Men's Golf | 4/6/2026 6:13:00 PM
KANNAPOLIS, NC — North Carolina A&T sophomore men's golfer
Ignacio Zapata is poised for a top-10 finish at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate tournament hosted by Appalachian State at the par-71, 7,005-yard The Club At Irish Creek.
Zapata finished Monday with a two-round 70-71–141 to join a three-way tie for 10th place, his hottest start of the season. If he continues at this pace, he could surpass his current best finish of 13th at the Fripp Island Intercollegiate in November 2025.
It was a competitive opening day, with 17 ties and most scores separated by a stroke. Catawba's Ilia Antoniadis led with a 6-under 65, holding a three-stroke advantage. Catawba, ranked ninth in NCAA Division II, finished Monday eight strokes ahead with a 6-under 282-280—562 performance.
Troy rebounded from an 8-over 292 to shoot a 6-under 278 and is the closest competitor. Appalachian State, the host, shares third with Old Dominion at 3-over 571. The Aggies are seventh with a 17-over 295-290—585, trailing Lehigh's sixth-place 14-over 582.
Zapata looked to find a rhythm after opening the first round with a pair of bogeys, a par, and then another bogey on the par-4 412-yard 11th. He steadied his swing for the rest of the back nine, saving a shot on the par-3 203-yard 15th. He briefly slipped with a five on the par-4 379-yard second but responded with a four-hole stretch of birdies spanning from the third to the sixth, and ended with a par on seven en route to a 1-under 70.
He started the second round with a birdie on the par-3 173-yard eighth and kept the card mostly clean except for balancing a triple bogey on 11 with a couple more birdies on 15 and 18 to finish with an even 71. The next best Aggie scores on the day came from Jorge
Emilio Hernandez (5-over 76),
Drew Walker (6-over 77), and
Javier Morgado (12-over 83).
The tournament concludes Tuesday, with a third-round match starting at 9 a.m.
