The NC State women’s golf team traveled to Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey for the Ivy Intercollegiate. It was an exciting week for the Pack, with the opportunity to play a course that’s hosted seven US Opens, four US Amateurs and most recently the 2018 US Junior Amateur.
The tournament featured a unique match play format between six Ivy League schools and six ACC schools. Seniors Natalie Armbruester and Pilar Berchot, junior Isabel Amezcua, sophomore Lauren Olivares Leon and freshman Vania Simont all represented the Pack.
Armbruester won her match over Natalie Cao of Penn. Armbruester played well in the back nine, winning holes 12, 13, 14 and 16 to grab hold of her match. With Armbruester’s lead at four strokes with only two holes left to play, the victory for the senior was well in hand.
Olivares Leon also won her match over Julie Shin of Penn. She played well early, holding a one-point lead after the first nine holes, but a rough start to the back nine saw her with a three-hole deficit with six holes to play. In comeback fashion, Olivares knocked off five consecutive winning holes in a row to grab a 1UP win.
The red and white did not fare as well in its other matches. Berchot dropped a 3&2 to Paige Harrison of Columbia and Amezcua lost a 5&4 to Bridget Ma of Harvard. Amezcua and Berchot combined for only three winning holes in their matches. Simont put up a good fight against Alexis Kim of Yale, but was unable to prevail as she lost a 2&1. Simont was able to pull out four winning holes, but faltered on six others.
The ACC defeated the Ivy League by a score of 6-3, with the ACC dominating the singles sessions.
The Wolfpack now turns its eyes to Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, which will take place at the Governor’s Club in Chapel Hill Oct. 17-18.
