UofA women dominate, NMSU men fight off Oregon in Round One of NB3 Matchplay

SANTA ANA PUEBLO — It was a beautiful Tuesday morning in New Mexico, not just for the Mass Ascension at the Balloon Fiesta 17 miles away, but for Round One of the NB3 Matchplay Tournament at Twin Warriors Golf Course in Santa Ana Pueblo.

The opening round saw a little bit of everything: back-and-forth matches, low scores and matchplay dominance.

In the women’s field, the home-state teams struggled with the Arizona Wildcats and Texas A&M Aggies, both taking 4-1 victories over the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State.

Arizona had arguably the most impressive team performance of the morning, winning four of its five matches by three holes or more. Highly touted freshman Kinsley Ni posted four-straight birdies in her six-hole victory over Alexandria Armendariz.

Texas A&M took home a first-round victory by the same margin, but it wasn’t a sure thing. Three of the five matches were decided by one hole.

Texas Aggies’ Scarlett Schremmer and Louise Reau fended off the potential Lobo comeback, with both of their opponents holding leads at various points in the match. Schremmer put together a clutch birdie on the third-to-last hole in what ended up being the difference maker.

For UNM and NMSU, they will look for some positives to take into round two. Lobo freshman Ava Cepeda shot a three-under-par in her team’s lone win of the morning, while NM Aggie Emma Bunch began her senior campaign with a four-hole victory.

On the men’s side, it was a rollercoaster of an opener. Both matches were decided 3-2, with the NMSU Aggies edging out the Oregon Ducks and the UNLV Rebels pulling away from the UNM Lobos.

It was high-stakes golf, unless your name was Mateo Payán. The NMSU sophomore posted four birdies and a miraculous eagle on hole one to put together a dominant seven-hole victory.

All Aggies.4-1 right now, with three matches with a lead of 2up or more v Oregon.Mateo Payan is 6up thru 10. Just a nuclear start for the sophomore.@RRObserver

— Dan Allison (@danlallison) October 7, 2025

Payán had the performance of the day for the Aggies, but could anyone match him for the Ducks?

Yes, and it may be a name you are familiar with. Aiden Krafft, a New Mexico native and former high school golfer out of Cibola High School, led the charge for the green and yellow. Krafft would birdie three of the first six holes in a four-hole victory for the two-time New Mexico high school state champion.

With Payán and Krafft firing on all cylinders, it quickly became a best-of-three. Two of the three matches went as far as the second-to-last hole, with the third ending on hole 16. There was plenty of scoreboard watching going on in the clubhouse, but late birdies from NMSU’s Anthony Lara and Max Chan sealed the deal for Pistol Pete’s crew.

While NMSU found itself on the right side of a 3-2 final, the Lobos could not muster a similar final push. UNM’s Wyatt Provence and Thayer Plewe were impressive, both posting three-hole victories, but a sweep of the final three matches by the Rebels gave UNLV the victory.

Starting with a bang, Round Two of the NB3 Matchplay is set to begin on Tuesday afternoon before the final on Wednesday. You can catch all the highlights of Round One and the next rounds on NBC’s Golf Channel. Televised times are set for 3:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 7 and 2:30-5:30 p.m. Oct. 8