Championship Central | Live Scoring | Round 3 Video Recap

LAS VEGAS – The defending champion Cal Poly Mustangs have claimed a third consecutive Big West Women’s Golf Championship after a impressive final round at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas. 

After opening the day with just a one-stroke lead, Cal Poly was able to win going away, besting second-place Long Beach State by 11 shots in windy conditions. 

Cal Poly was paced by a pair of Big West All-Tournament Team performers in fifth year senior Vanessa Wang and junior Nicole Neale, as the duo tied for fourth at 6-over 222. Wang jumped up five spots after a closing round 73 that included three front-nine birdies. Sophomore Kamille Dimayuga also earned a Top 10 finish. As a team, the Mustangs led the field’s scoring average on par 3s and 4s, rolling in tournament bests of 33 birdies and 163 pars. 

The championship victory is the fourth overall for Cal Poly, and first under the direction of first-year head coach Courtney Roberts. The Mustangs were victorious for the first time in 2017, and then again in 2021 and 2022 making the string of three straight.  

Long Beach State landed in second in the team standings, boasting the Championship’s individual medalist in freshman Jasmine Leovao. The first-year player for the Beach raced to the big lead over the field in the first round after carding an opening-day 66 and finished the event at even-par 216, three strokes ahead of the closest competitor. The wire-to-wire win gives LBSU the individual champion in four of the last five seasons, with 2022 being the exception. Fifth-year senior Hannah Ko joined Leovao in the top 5 after finishing with a 5-over 221 to claim third. 

Individual second place belonged to UC Riverside sophomore Tiffany Le, who earned a second-straight appearance on the All-Tournament Team after closing at 3-over 219. Le helped the Highlanders to consecutive third-place finishes in the team standings, edging Cal State Fullerton by one stroke. Titan senior Elina Saksa tied for seventh.  

UC Irvine came in fifth, leaping up two spots in the standings with two of the biggest individual movers in the final round. Megan Yang improved 14 spots to finish tied for seventh and Kiana Briggs jumped 10 places into a tie for 11th. Yang’s final round of 7-under 70 included six birdies as the junior recorded the day’s only under-par score. Yang tied Leovao at the top of the total birdies listings with 11. 

UC Davis took sixth, followed by Hawai’i, CSU Bakersfield and CSUN. Rainbow Wahine Mayumi Umezu tied for fourth individually to pace the team, and Aggie Skyler May landed in 10th. Umezu recorded a championship-best 39 pars All told, seven of The Big West’s nine programs saw at least one golfer in the top 10. 

The Mustangs will be one of 72 teams and 36 individuals to compete in the regional field of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, earning The Big West’s automatic berth. The comolete field will be announced next Wednesday, April 26 at 10 a.m. on the Golf Channel.