Lobos golf: Men's, women's teams take down NMSU on final day of NB3 Matchplay

UNM’s Ava Cepeda hits onto the green during the NB3 Matchplay at Twin Warriors Golf Course in Santa Ana Pueblo on Wednesday.

Mike Sandoval / For the Journal

Sean Reider Sean Reider Sean Reider Journal Staff Writer

Published October 8, 2025 - 8:37 p.m. Modified October 8, 2025 - 8:43 p.m.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO — It was a 15-footer for Thayer Plewe. At first, he thought it’d break right. Then he figured it’d break straight across the No. 17 green.

“And I said, ‘go with the gut,’” the freshman for New Mexico said Wednesday.

It did, in fact, break right — into the hole.

“(He) almost broke my hand afterwards,” UNM men’s golf coach Jake Harrington. “He’s like, ‘sorry coach, I was amped.’ I was like, ‘you don’t have to be sorry for making putts.’”

Plewe was one of the major highlights for the Lobos this week, sinking putt after putt to help UNM men’s golf to a second-place finish in the NB3 Matchplay at Twin Warriors Golf Club. The freshman from Cortez, Colorado (and former Twin Warriors employee) defeated New Mexico State’s Mateo Payán Wednesday, clinching a team-best third win in as many matches.

“I told Thayer, ‘I’m not reading a putt for you, because you know these greens better than I do. You’re out here all the time,’” Harrington laughed. “But it's one thing to say it, it’s another to back it up. And Thayer backed it up as a freshman.”

In addition to Plewe’s performance, UNM senior Mesa Falleur beat NMSU’s Anthony Lara 5-and-4 while Johnnie Clark and Emil Albers halved with Javier Delgadillo and Max Chan, respectively. Ethan Klose carded NMSU’s lone win of the day, beating Wyatt Provence 1-up as the Lobos took three of five possible points from the Aggies.

UNM lost to NMSU in last year’s NB3 Matchplay, the first edition of the tournament started by former PGA Tour professional and Albuquerque native Notah Begay III.

“You have rivalries and you want to go out there and you want to own the state, and that’s the bottom line,” Harrington said. “And me personally, I had a bitter taste in my mouth last year (with NMSU) taking us out at the end. It’s nice to return the favor.”

On the women’s side, UNM women’s golf beat NMSU 3-2 to tie for third place with four points apiece. Lobo freshman Ava Cepeda took down Isa Lauhle 3-and-2 to claim her second match of the week while Rebecca Galasso and Chelsea Truong both halved with Rylee Salome and Emma Thompson, respectively. NMSU’s Alexandria Armendariz beat Ciarra Rushmer 4-and-3.

“I am so proud of them and their fight,” UNM women’s golf coach Jill Trujillo said. “And it’s always fun to play New Mexico State. Their coaches are great there; the players (too). And yeah, it’s a rivalry, but it’s a golf rivalry and I think they’re a great team.”

The Lobos also got an impressive performance from their senior, Maria Caparrós Levin. Playing against a reigning All-American in NMSU's Emma Bunch, Caparros-Levin struggled off the tee and trailed by three after trying to adjust her swing on the front nine.

Once she got to the back nine? “I was just like, ‘I need to play with what I have right now – there’s no time to fix my swing on the course,’” Caparrós Levin said. “So I started playing more like easy golf, you know? Fairway finders and that swing that kind of works for me.”

It certainly worked in the match: Caparros-Levin made six birdies on the back nine, closing with three straight to come from behind and pick up her first win of the week Wednesday.

“I knew that I couldn’t win with pars,” she added. “If I wanted to win, I needed to start making birdies, and that’s what I started doing.”

UNLV claimed the men’s team title Wednesday, beating Oregon 3-2 to finish with nine points to UNM’s eight; NMSU (7 points) and Oregon (5) finished third and fourth. Arizona (12) won the women’s team title and Texas A&M (9) finished second.

Whether either team will be back to defend those titles next year is unclear. But Begay made it clear there will be a third edition of the college tournament that bears his name.

“We’re there (and) we’re looking forward to it,” Begay told the Journal on Wednesday. “We’re in the process of trying to get a field set and as soon as we get a field set, we’ll make an announcement. We’re gonna bring another big event to New Mexico and showcase everything that is great about this state.”