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NM State to serve as one of 13 teams competing to advance to the National Championship.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State will begin its next chapter of the season as they travel to Auburn, Ala., where they will compete in the NCAA Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club. The Aggies will enter the week looking to finish among the top five teams in order to secure a spot in the National Championship held in Carlsbad, Calif., on May 23-28.
The tournament will comprise of a three-day, 54-hole stroke play competition that is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. MT on Monday, May 12.
NCAA AUBURN REGIONAL
Dates: Monday, May 12 – Wednesday, May 14
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Course: Auburn University Club
Host: Auburn University
Par/Yardage: 72, 7,607 yards
Live Scoring: SCOREBOARD Powered by clippd
AGGIE LINEUP
NM State will be represented by Aidan Thomas, Ethan Klose, Mateo Payan, Javier Delgadillo and Alexandre Bauduin while Vari Mariscal will serve as an alternate for the week. Of this group, Thomas and Payan have played in each of the Aggies’ nine events this season.
AIDAN THOMAS
- Coming off an individual title at the CUSA Championship where he shot 70-70-68 to finish the week at 208 (-8). This also marked Thomas’ best 54-hole score of the season.
- This week will mark the fourth time that Thomas will compete at an NCAA Regional after also participating in 2021, 2022 (individual) and 2023 (individual). Entering the week, Thomas’ best finish came in 2023 at the Las Vegas Regional where he finished tied for 30th (-7).
- Played in 30 of the Aggies’ 30 rounds this season and has tallied 2,147 total strokes for an average of 72.1 strokes per round.
- His second best finish this year came at the UC San Diego Invitational (March 23-25 in San Diego) where he placed third (+2) to help guide the Aggies to their second team title of the season.
- This year, Thomas has posted six rounds in the 60s, including a season-low 66 (-6) in his first round of the season at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.
- He has recorded eight top-25 finishes this year, including placing among the top 10 five times.
- He logged back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Border Olympics (Feb. 17-18 in Laredo, Texas) and GCU Invitational (March 11-12 in Phoenix).
- Thomas has finished as the low Aggie three times this season, doing so at the GCU Invitational, the UC San Diego Invitational and the CUSA Championships
- This is his sixth year with the Aggies and first season back on the course after sitting last year out.
ETHAN KLOSE
- Has participated in 27 rounds this season and has tallied a total of 1,956 strokes to maintain an average score of 72.4 per round.
- His best finish came at the Border Olympics (Feb. 17-18 in Laredo, Texas) where he shot a 208 (-5) to claim the individual title in the field of 84 and included six players ranked in the top 150 at the time. Klose’s win marked the first of his collegiate career and came as result of shooting a 67 (-4) in the final round to edge out No. 50 Hunter Thomson of Michigan.
- In total, Klose has recorded five rounds in the 60s this season and did so most recently at the CUSA Championship where he shot 68 in the final round to turn in his second consecutive top-15 finish.
- This year, he has finished as the low Aggie twice, doing so at the Arizona Thunderbirds Invite (March 17-18 in Tucson, Ariz.) and the Aggie Invitational (April 12-13 in Bryan, Texas).
- He has recorded six top-25 finishes this year, including three top-10 placements. He also finished the year with four consecutive top-25 finishes.
- Also shined in the NB3 Match Play event to help the Aggies earn the team title over Texas, New Mexico and Stanford. In the event, Klose was one of two Aggies to win all three of his matches, including defeating Texas’ Luke Potter who is currently ranked No. 47 according to Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
- This will mark the first time that Klose competes in an NCAA Regional.
MATEO PAYAN
- The true freshman is one of just two Aggies this season to compete in all 10 tournaments. He has amassed 2,120 strokes to average a score of 73.1 per round.
- His best finish came at the Herb Wimberly Memorial (Oct. 14-15 in Las Cruces, N.M.) where he shot a 205 (-8) to finish tied for second to help lead the Aggies to their first team title of the season.
- Payan finished as the low Aggie one time this season when he finished tied for eighth (207, -9 at the N.I.T. in Tucson, Ariz., helping the Aggies place third as a team.
- This year, he has submitted five rounds in the 60s, including shooting a 69 and 68 in the second and third round, respectively, at the N.I.T. He shot a low round of 66 in the opening round of the Herb Wimberly Memorial.
- Thus far, he has finished in the top 25 five times, including three top-10 placements. His most recent top-10 finish came at the UC San Diego Invitational (March 23-25) when he finished tied for fourth to help the Aggies claim the team title.
- This will mark the first time that Payan competes in an NCAA Regional.
JAVIER DELGADILLO
- Has played in 27 rounds this season and has recorded 1,960 strokes to maintain an average score of 72.6 per round.
- He turned his best finish of the year at the Herb Wimberly Memorial (Oct. 14-15 in Las Cruces, N.M.) when he finished tied for fourth to help the Aggies collect the team title in their home tournament.
- He is coming off a top-10 finish at the CUSA Championship where he shot a 213 (-2) to end the week in a tie for ninth.
- Delgadillo’s best 54-hole score is 207 (-6) and he has finished as the low Aggie twice this season, doing so in each of the Aggies’ first two events of the year.
- The junior has posted three rounds in the 60s this season with all three coming in the first round of the tournament.
- He began the year with four straight top-15 finishes and has finished among the top 10 three times this year.
- He was also a top performer at the NB3 Match Play event the Aggies took part in on Oct. 8-9 in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. There, he finished 3-0, including a win over the current No. 9 ranked player in the nation in Texas’ Tommy Morrison who he defeated 3&2 to help lead the Aggies to a team title over Texas, New Mexico and Stanford.
- This will be the first time that Delgadillo competes in an NCAA Regional.
ALEXANDRE BAUDUIN
- Bauduin has competed in 27 rounds this season and has recorded 1,969 strokes to hold an average score of 72.9 per round.
- He is one of two Aggies to win a tournament this season as he earned the individual crown at the Aggies’ home event – the Herb Wimberly Memorial, shooting a 202 (-11) to win the tournament by three strokes.
- Bauduin has a team-high tying total of five rounds in the 60s this season, including the lowest single-round score by an Aggie this season as he shot a 64 (-7) in the final round of the Herb Wimberly Memorial.
- Thus far, he has posted six top-25 finishes, including a trio of top-10s. Bauduin is currently on a streak of four consecutive top-25 finishes, including finishing ninth at the UC San Diego Invitational (March 23-25 in San Diego) to help lead the Aggies to a team title.
- This week, he will be playing in first NCAA Regional.
VARI MARISCAL – Alternate
- Mariscal has competed in two tournaments this season and has played in seven rounds. He has tallied a total of 501 strokes to maintain an average score of 71.6 per round.
- He first competed in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Erie, Colo.) where he finished tied for 32nd.
- Later, he recorded his best collegiate finish as he finished tied for 13th in the Aggies’ home event, the Herb Wimberly Memorial.
- Most recently, he subbed in and shot a 75 (+3) in the final round of the CUSA Championship.
- This will be the first NCAA Regional that he is a part of.
THE FIELD
NM State will compete in a deep field which will include the overall No. 1 seed and host Auburn along with Texas A&M, UCLA, SMU, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Purdue, Little Rock, TCU, Charleston, NM State, Loyola Maryland and USC Upstate. Additionally, 10 individuals will be competing, including fellow CUSA competitor Claes Borregaard of Kennesaw State.
For the opening round, NM State will be playing alongside Charleston and Loyola Maryland with the first group slated to go off at 7:55 MT.
TEAMS
| Seed | Team (Conference Champion) | SCOREBOARD Rank |
| 1. | Auburn | 1 |
| 2. | Texas A&M | 12 |
| 3. | UCLA (Big Ten) | 13 |
| 4. | SMU | 24 |
| 5. | Georgia Tech | 25 |
| 6. | Oregon | 36 |
| 7. | Purdue | 37 |
| 8. | Little Rock (OVC) | 48 |
| 9. | TCU | 50 |
| 10. | Charleston | 62 |
| 11. | NM State | 63 |
| 12. | Loyola Maryland (Patriot) | 142 |
| 13. | USC Upstate (Big South) | 227 |
INDIVIDUALS
| Seed | Individual (Conference Champion) | SCOREBOARD Rank |
| 1. | Louis Anceaux, ULM | 94 |
| 2. | Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State | 96 |
| 3. | Xing Luo, North Alabama | 143 |
| 4. | Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State | 147 |
| 5. | Parker Claxton, Georgia Southern | 165 |
| 6. | Camden Braidech, Chattanooga | 211 |
| 7. | Yixiang Wang, Memphis | 219 |
| 8. | Jack Maxey, Arkansas State | 438 |
| 9. | Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian | 1,012 |
| 10. | Jonathan Xoinis, UT Martin | 1,105 |
TEE TIMES (Hole 10) (All times listed in Mountain Daylight Time)
Alexandre Bauduin – 7:55 a.m.
Mateo Payán – 8:06 a.m.
Ethan Klose– 8:17 a.m.
Javier Delgadillo – 8:28 a.m.
Aidan Thomas – 8:39 a.m.
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