It couldn’t be. Paula Martín (-7) finished fourth in the individual section of the Nationals. The Spaniard started this Monday in second position, just one stroke behind Maria José Marín, with every chance of being crowned in Carlsbad as the best university player of the year.
A round over par (73 strokes) prevented the Spaniard from aspiring to the title and becoming the third Spanish player in history to be crowned in the NCAA after Azahara Muñoz in 2008 and María Hernández in 2009. Paula has finished third and fourth in this event in her two university years. It’s not a bad record, but the Madrid native longed for more. Ultimately, it was the Colombian herself who emerged as the individual winner of the Nationals 2025.
The Madrid native started her round with eight consecutive pars, but a slip just before finishing the first nine began to hinder her chances. She needed to make gains, and they weren’t coming. Paula made another five consecutive pars just before her first birdie of the day on the 15th hole, which seemed to come too late. She was four strokes off the lead with three holes to play. A bogey on the 17th knocked her off the tournament podium.
Not all news is bad. Paula will fight from this Tuesday alongside Andrea Revuelta to repeat the team crown achieved with Stanford last year. They dominated the stroke play phase with more than a twenty-stroke lead over the second-placed team. However, now the counter resets to zero, and a tough match play battle begins among the top eight universities of the year. In the quarter-final duel, they will face Virginia University, the eighth seed.
Among the other Spanish players still in contention, Carla Bernat (-2) stood out with a great finish. Kansas was eliminated yesterday, but the player from Castellón played the final round thanks to her individual performance. She narrowly missed the top ten with a round of 67 strokes, the second-best score of the day. Andrea Revuelta (+2) finally finished 24th, ten places behind was Rocío Tejedo (+4) in 34th, and Martina López Lanchares concluded in 67th place.
In the team section, only Paula and Andrea will fight for the university crown. It can be considered a somewhat meagre outcome considering that eleven Spanish players began the decisive event. Rocío Tejedo (+4) was the best for LSU, but they fell just two strokes short of eighth place. Tennessee, led by Martina, needed a great final comeback that didn’t materialise, finishing in thirteenth place. Lastly, after resting on the third day, Ana Pina did play in the final round, and her Mississippi State closed the season just behind Tennessee.
