AMES, Iowa – Former Iowa State golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena, the 2018 Big 12 champion and Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year, was found dead this morning at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames.
She was 22 years old.
"Celia had an infectious smile, a bubbly personality and anyone fortunate enough to know her was blessed," Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. "Our Cyclone family mourns the tragic loss of Celia, a spectacular student-athlete and ISU ambassador."
A native of Puente San Miguel, Spain, Barquin Arozamena, who exhausted her eligibility at Iowa State in 2017-18 and was finishing her civil engineering degree this semester, was one of the most accomplished players in Cyclone golf history.
"This is a tragic and senseless loss of a talented young woman and an acclaimed student athlete," Iowa State University President Dr. Wendy Wintersteen said. "We mourn with her family and friends in Spain, her teammates here and all who knew her. On behalf of the entire Cyclone family, I extend our deep condolences to Celia's family and her many friends and teammates at Iowa State. We are deeply saddened."
Barquin Arozamena became just the second Cyclone women's golfer to earn medalist honors at a conference tournament in April when she claimed the 2018 Big 12 Championship with a three-shot victory (73-71-69=213) at the Dallas Athletic Club.
"We are all devastated," Iowa State head women's golf coach Christie Martens said. "Celia was a beautiful person who was loved by all her teammates and friends. She loved Iowa State and was an outstanding representative for our school. We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life."
She ended her brilliant Iowa State career (2015-18) with her fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance and earned All-Big 12 Team honors for the third time (2015, 2016, 2018), one of only two players in school history to accomplish the feat. She was also a three-time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 selection.
Ranked No. 69 nationally by Golfweek, Barquin Arozamena led the team in stroke average (73.21), top-10 finishes (5) and birdies (78) in 2017-18. Her stroke average ranked third on ISU's single-season list.
Barquin Arozamena is ISU's career leader in stroke average (73.44) and her 16 top-10 finishes ties for second in school history.
She continued her outstanding play this past summer by becoming just the third Cyclone women's golfer to compete in the United States Women's Open Championship at Shoal Creek in Alabama.
Barquin Arozamena maintained her amateur status and captured the prestigious European Ladies Amateur at the Penati Golf Resort in Slovakia in July. In August, she advanced to Stage II of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Iowa State Athletics Department will honor Barquin Arozamena's memory at Saturday's football game vs. Akron.
