Thursday, January 4, 2024

UTSA’s Carreon wins NCAA regional crown, punches ticket to national championships

UTSA’s Carreon wins NCAA regional crown, punches ticket to national championships

MAY 11, 2023 — UTSA senior Camryn Carreon won the NCAA San Antonio Regional individual title by six shots and punched her ticket to the national championships with a history-making performance this week at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course (par 72/6,342 yards).

Entering Wednesday’s final round with a four-stroke lead after opening the 54-hole event with a 6-under-par 138, Carreon fired a 4-under 68 to run away with medalist honors to become the first Roadrunner to win an NCAA Regional, securing a second straight berth in the NCAA Championships, which will be held May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Carreon finished the week with a 10-under 206, the second-best 54-hole total of her UTSA career behind only her school record 202 registered in March when she won the Trinity Forest Invitational for her first collegiate victory. The San Antonio native opened the tournament with a 1-under 71 on Monday that put her in a tie for third place. She then carded a 5-under 67 on Tuesday that vaulted her into sole possession of first entering the final day before cruising to the six-shot win today.


“I would have never dreamed of doing this when I started playing golf 10-plus years ago, but I feel really happy right now.”


UTSA senior Camryn Carreon won the NCAA San Antonio Regional individual title by six shots and will now play in the national championships from May 19-24 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photos by Josh Guerra | UTSA Athletics


“This is an awesome feeling to win this here at TPC in front of my family and teammates,” Carreon said. “I would have never dreamed of doing this when I started playing golf 10-plus years ago, but I feel really happy right now.

“I was a little nervous coming into it and everyone was talking about having a home-course advantage, but this course is tough so you still have to hit the shots or it will get you really fast. I feel really good that my game showed up this week. My irons were working well and I was making more putts this week — I actually still left some out there — but this feels awesome.”

Carreon was steady to start her final round, writing down par on each of her first five holes. The first-team all-conference performer then birdied the 340-yard, par-4 sixth to get to 7-under par for the tournament. Following a par on No. 7, she fell back to even for the day with her only bogey of the day, a six on the 549-yard eighth, but then closed the front nine with her seventh par of the side.

Carreon put her foot on the pedal on the back nine, recording pars on Nos. 10-11 before recording back-to-back birdies on the next two holes with a three on the 348-yard 12th and a two on the 195-yard 13th. She then drained a 12-foot putt for an eagle-3 on the 471-yard, par-5 14th.

Now armed with a comfortable advantage, Carreon closed her week with four pars in a row including sinking a four-foot putt on No. 18 in front of her teammates, fans and family to secure her spot at nationals.

Carreon ended up six strokes ahead of UCLA’s Zoe Campos, the No. 9-ranked player in the nation, who carded a 4-under 212 (70-72-70). No. 44-ranked Mackenzie Lee of SMU and Clemence Martin of Oklahoma State tied for third place at 2-under 214. Altogether, Carreon beat 18 top-100 players, including three who rank in the top 10.

In the team race, 18th-ranked Pepperdine and No. 27 SMU tied for first at 9-over, followed by No. 22 Oklahoma State and sixth-ranked Texas A&M in a tie for third at 16-over. No. 42 New Mexico locked up the fifth and final automatic berth to the NCAA Championships with a 25-over total.

— UTSA Athletics



UTSA Today is produced by University Strategic Communications,
the official news source
of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu.


UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.


Events


Spotlight

Spotlight

dtc-utsa-sign_680.png
University of Texas at San Antonio receives ‘transformational’ $40M gift

UTSA’s Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

UTSA’s Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.