KANNAPOLIS, NC — North Carolina A&T sophomore men's golfer Ignacio Zapata launched nine places up the leaderboard to secure the first tournament title of his career, winning Appalachian State's Irish Creek Intercollegiate tournament at the par-71 7,005-yard The Club At Irish Creek.

After opening with 70-71—141 on Monday, he capped the tournament with a 4-under 67 Tuesday for a 5-under 208 total. An Aggie has won an individual title six times since the program's start in 2017. Zapata is the fifth different individual to win medalist honors in program history.  

"Ignacio—better known as Nacho—finally cashed in at Irish Creek," said director of golf Mesha Levister. "Turns out the secret wasn't a new swing, a new putter, or a lucky ball… it was commitment. For a while, he was flirting with the process—texting it late at night, keeping things casual—but this week, he decided to settle down and get serious. And wouldn't you know it, the game started loving him back."

Zapata edged Catawba's Paul Esnauly by one stroke. Esnauly shot a third round 3-under 68 to climb eight positions for second with a 6-under 209. Catawba's Ilia Antoniadis led after the first two rounds but dropped to third with 3-under 69-67-74—210. Catawba outlasted the competition for a second day and won the tournament with 4-over 282-280-294—856.

Host Appalachian State finished second, two strokes behind Catawba with a 6-over 858, separating from a tie with Old Dominion, which trailed by one stroke with 7-over 859.  Partly because of Zapata's third-round outing, the Aggies improved to sixth with 28-over 295-290-295—880, trailing Presbyterian, which shot a 23-over 875.

Zapata started out hot, following a par on the par-4 322-yard fifth with three birdies and two pars before picking up a bogey on the par-4 11th. His birdies came on the par-5, 535-yard sixth, the par-4, 412-yard seventh, and the par-4, 435-yard ninth. After the bogey, he rebalanced quickly with a stretch of three more pars and saving a shot on 15 by carding a two on the par-3, 203-yard hole.
He took one extra stroke on the par-4 473-yard 16th. It would be his last extra shot of the round as he finished with a clean card highlighted by birdies on the par-4, 400-yard first and the par-4, 378-yard fourth.

Junior Camilo Marin improved by seven places to contribute the next best Aggie score, a 3-over 216. Marin, who played as an individual, carded four birdies, with three coming on the front nine, starting with a three on the par-4, 379-yard second. Sophomore Mauricio Alvarado added a 9-over 222, and freshman Emilio Hernandez provided an 11-over 224.

The Aggies will now shift their sights toward the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) conference tournament hosted April 26-28 in St. Helena Island, SC.