Completed Event: Women's Golf versus Stanford Intercollegiate on October 17, 2025 , , 9th/19
Final
Women's Golf
Stanford Intercollegiate
9th/19
Iowa State University Athletics
No. 23 Iowa State Heads To Big 12 Championship
04.18.2018 | Women's Golf
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women's golf team has its sights set on the 2018 Big 12 Championship (April 20-22) at the Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas.
Iowa State has placed in the upper-half of the Big 12 Championship in eight-straight seasons, including a runner-up finish in 2017, its best showing since the league formed in 1996-97.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 23 nationally by Golfweek and will go into the Big 12 Championship as the fourth-highest-ranked team in the league: No. 7 Texas, No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Oklahoma.
This year's tournament will be held at the Dallas Athletic Club after three years at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio. Built in 1919, the DAC was the site of the 1963 PGA Championship (Jack Nicklaus was the champion).
Texas is the defending champion, defeating Iowa State by seven shots. Dylan Kim (Baylor) was the 2017 individual champion and two-time Big 12 champion Kenzie Neisen (2015, 2016) of Oklahoma State will go for her third title.
"The Big 12 is strong as usual," Iowa State head coach Christie Martens said. "Texas is in the top-10 and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are very good, so we will have some great competition. Celia (Barquin Arozamena) and Kanoon (Chayanit Wangmahaporn) have played there before and we hope that can help. Our players take pride in playing well at the Big 12 Championship. They know they can help our athletics department finish high in the rankings if they do well there. They really do feel that excitement and energy to help support the rest of the department."
The Cyclones are a lock to make their ninth-straight NCAA Regional berth with another outstanding regular season. In the spring, ISU had two runner-up finishes (Lady Puerto Rico Classic; Bruzzy Challenge) and a third-place showing at the SDSU March Mayhem, a match play event where the Cyclones went 2-1 with wins over Colorado and Northwestern.
It was the second match play event the Cyclones played this year, winning the East & West Match Play in September with victories over Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Competing against the nation's best teams in match play has been a valuable experience.
"It shows a lot of toughness," Martens said. "The NCAA Championship now finishes out in match play, so a lot of teams are now playing more match play events. Our seniors talk about that we are a great match play team because they are mentally tough and have a lot of grit. They also embrace match play, and we are hoping that can crossover to stroke play."
The success of the Cyclones at the league championship will depend on the play of their two leaders senior Barquin Arozamena (Puente San Miguel, Spain) and junior Wangmahaporn (Rayong, Thailand).
Both earned All-Tournament honors at the Big 12 Championship last year by placing in the top-10.
Barquin Arozamena, who is ranked No. 97 in the nation by Golfweek, is one of the most accomplished golfers in school history as her career winds down. She has four top-10 finishes this year to give her 15 in her career, tying for fourth in school history.
She has a team-best 73.64 stroke average and wants to cap off her brilliant career with a spot in the NCAA finals.
"Celia and Kanoon have a certain mindset that they want to win and are super competitive," Martens said. "We joke that they are the same person from different countries. They have the same winning mentality. They definitely spread that to the team and the other players feed off of that."
Wangmahaporn, ranked 66th nationally by Golfweek, is a two-time First-Team All-Big 12 recipient and owns ISU's career record in stroke average at 73.45.
After setting ISU's season stroke average record a year ago (72.90), Wangmahaporn is second on the team in stroke average (73.86) and is tied for the team lead in top-10 finishes with four.
Iowa State has maintained its stature as one of the top teams nationally thanks to outstanding play from sophomore Amelia Grohn and freshman Alanna Campbell.
Grohn has a 75.59 stroke average and is second on the team in birdies (59). Campbell, who is ranked No. 146 nationally by Golfweek, is third on the team in stroke average (74.82) and top-10 finishes (2).
"It's been exciting to see Alanna's development," Martens said. "She is probably one our hardest workers as well, and to see the effort they she has been putting in, especially in the offseason, has been great. Her ball flight has changed and she looks like a different player. It's been really exciting to watch. She was already a great player when she got here, but she has gotten a lot better."
"Amelia has kind of been a lynchpin for us," Martens added. "When she plays well our team plays well. Her consistency has really helped us this year."
To follow the live scoring at the 2018 Big 12 Women's Golf Championships, click here.
For more information on the Dallas Athletic Club, click here.
Players Mentioned
Monday, May 12
Monday, May 12
Thursday, April 25
Wednesday, April 24
