Mocs Golfer Dorota Zalewska Has the Lead Going Into Final Round of NCAA Raleigh Regionals

(gomocs.com) RALEIGH—What. A. Start.

Chattanooga Mocs graduate Dorota Zalewska ’23 is off and running at the NCAA Raleigh Regionals. She’s 9 under through 36 after an eye-popping 66 Monday. That’s provided a 3-shot lead into the final round at N.C. State’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course.

It’s a scene.

“Dori has been firing on all cylinders for the past two days,” Coach Colette Murray shared as the final groups closed out the day in Raleigh. “Her game is in a good place, and her mind has been at ease. She has really become such a well-rounded player that all parts of her game are strong.

“The key going into tomorrow is just keeping things the same. She’s happy on the course. If we can maintain all of that, then I think we have a chance.”

Her 66 today is a career-best card and ties Ladies European Tour pro Christine Wolf’s ’11 school record for 18-hole total of 6 under. Zalewska tied her own 36-hole mark of 135 but bettered the score vs. par with 9 under passing Emily McLennan’s 8-under 136 en route to the 2015 Fall Invitational Medalist honors.

She got going right out of the gate with birdies on two and three to move into an early tie for the lead. A slight stumble with bogey on eight saw a quick response holing out for eagle on nine to make the turn at 3 under on the day and 6 under for the tournament, and back atop the leaderboard in a tie for first.

Three straight pars on holes 10-12 led the taking the lead outright with a birdie on 13. It didn’t take long to make it a 2-stroke advantage with a quick two at the par 3 14th. It was the third time in the tourney with back-to-back birds for Zalewska. Three pars in a row gave way to a final birdie at 18 as her competitors scramble to stay within range.

Her 135 is three ahead of N.C. State’s Lauren Olivares in second and four clear of the Wolfpack’s Isabel Amezcua in third. Julia Misemer (Arizona), Grace Summerhays (Arizona State) and Lottie Woad (Florida State) round out the top 5 at 4 under.

N.C. State leads the team side with 570, two ahead of Arizona State in second. Wake Forest (577), Arizona (578) and Purdue (578) are in third and tied for fourth, respectively. The top 5 teams advance to the finals along with the low individual not on one of those teams. Zalewska is currently five ahead of Woad for that spot, but with 18 holes to play and FSU, TCU and Florida within five strokes of the cutline, there’s a lot of mystery to unveil.

The 54-hole event conclude with a final 18 Wednesday. Zalewska leads off No. 1 at 8:55 playing with Morgan Ketchum (Virginia Tech) and Sarah Kahn (High Point). Links to tournament central page, pairings and live scoring, when available, are above along with a comprehensive notes package.

NCAA Raleigh Regionals

May 8-10 (Mon-Wed) | 54 holes (18 per day)

Lineup

1) Dorota Zalewska: 69-66=135 (-9)

3 Notes to Know

–        Set new season high for birdies with her first today…had 94 in 2021-22 and had matched that number on the 18th hole yesterday…second all-time for birdies in a season (99) and career (321) behind Emily McLennan ’16 in both categories…McLennan’s records are 115 (2015-16) for a season and 334 (2013-16) for her career.

–        Got her first eagle of 2022-23 on the 395-yard par 4 ninth hole…holed out from 167 yards with a 7 iron…5th career eagle ties Megan Woods ’18 for second on the career list behind Chattanooga native Jordan Britt ’14 with seven.

–        10th card in the 60s this season and 15th of her career, both school records…the previous career mark was 10 by McLennan.

Course

Lonnie Poole Golf Club | Par 72 | 6,324 yards

Field (by seed)

Wake Forest, Arizona State, Florida State, Florida, Arizona, North Texas, TCU, N.C. State, Purdue, Nebraska, Campbell, Richmond

Individuals (by seed)

Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga; Kendall Turner, James Madison; Mallory Fobes, UNC Wilmington; Morgan Ketchum, Virginia Tech; Becca DiNunzio, Virginia Tech; Sarah Kahn, High Point

History

All-Time Entries: 12th

Team: 6 (Advanced in 2009)

Individual: 6th

Last: 2022 – Dorota Zalewska (Franklin) & Esme Hamilton (Albuquerque)

Individual Appearances

2008: Emma de Groot, Athens, Ga., T17, 73-76-74=223 (+7)

2016: Emily McLennan, Birmingham, Ala., T29, 77-75-79=231 (+15)

2019: Monica San Juan, Auburn, Ala., T73, 77-78-75=230 (+15)

2022: Dorota Zalewska, Franklin, Tenn., T21, 76-70-73=219 (+3)

2022: Esme Hamilton, Albuquerque, N.M., T51, 76-78-75=229 (+13)

Top Finishes

T8, Maria Juliana Loza, 2011 Central Regionals (Notre Dame), 73-78-72-223 (+7)

T17, Emma de Groot, 2008 East Regionals (Georgia), 73-76-74=223 (+7)

T18, Christine Wolf, 2011 Central Regionals (Notre Dame), 75-76-74=225 (+9)

T19, Maria Juliana Loza, 2012 East Regionals (Penn State), 73-72-76=221 (+5)

T21, Dorota Zalewska, 2022 Franklin Regionals, 76-70-73=219 (+3)