NC State women’s golf wrapped up its 2023-24 season by sending junior Lauren Olivares Leon and senior Isabel Amezcua to compete as individuals in the Bermuda Run Regional, which was hosted by Wake Forest.
Leon and Amezcua were two of the six individuals selected to play in the NCAA regional, marking the first time in program history that two players represented NC State at a regional. Leon finished in a tie for seventh with a score of 6-under par and Amezcua placed in a tie for 32nd at 5-over par.
It was a consistent three days for Leon who shot 2-under par in each round. The junior golfer found most of her success on Par 4s where she shot 2-under on such holes which was tied for the sixth best among the field. She also recorded par on 40 holes — tied for the fourth most of any player — showing the consistency she played with during the tournament.
Leon won’t advance any further, though. Only the top five teams advance and the highest finisher on a team that didn’t place top five moves on. Tennessee’s Bailey Davis shot two strokes better than Leon at 8-under to move on to the NCAA Championship.
Her seventh-place finish marked Leon’s fourth top-10 of the year and sixth top-20 finish. The Celaya, Mexico native continued to cement her legacy as one of the best golfers in Wolfpack women’s history.
Leon started her junior year setting an NCAA record by shooting 11-under in the first round of the Cougar Classic earlier this season. She became the first NC State player since 2017 to be named first all-conference and the eighth to do it overall. Leon led the team with a 72.44 stroke average and won the individual title at the Briar’s Creek Invitational in March. She is just the second golfer in program history to have multiple career wins as she won the same event last season.
As for Amezcua, she started strong with an opening round of 1-under par but failed to shoot under par the next two days. Her last round especially hurt her score as she shot 4-over par with four bogeys and one double bogey. Amezcua found most of her success on Par 5s where she shot 2-under par but that was overshadowed by her 6-over performance on Par 3s.
Amezcua, despite not having her best outing at the NCAA Regional, had a solid season in her senior year. She finished in the top 20 in five of the 10 events she played in and tied for fifth at the ACC Tournament, her career-best finish.
NC State’s season is officially over with neither Leon nor Amezcua advancing to the NCAA Championship. The Wolfpack will look to improve next season as a team as head coach Darby Sligh will have a year of experience under her belt as a head coach.
