Cal State Fullerton fired off the fourth-best team score of the day in the Gold Canyon Regional from Superstition Mountain GC in Apache Junction, Ariz., to finish the second round in sixth place.
The Titans put together an impressive round of 4-over 292 to jump three spots on the leaderboard and into contention to earn a qualifying spot to the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships.
Tuesday’s second round saw sophomore Zara Ali turn in a 1-under 71 to lead the team with junior Davina Xanh posting an even-par 72. Coupled with the first round 69, Xanh’s two-round total of 3-under 141 is good for a tie for third individually with Ali up 18 spots into a three-way tie for 13th at 2-over 146.
Cal State Fullerton got rounds of 74 and 75 from Big West individual medalist Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith and Katharina Zeilinger, respectively, to round out the team scoring on the day.
Three Big West individual golfers are in the field with Long Beach State junior Janae Leovao shooting 1-over 73 to sit in a tie for 11th with sister Jasmine two strokes back in 16th. Cal Poly’s Jensen Jalufka sits in 25th with 18 holes remaining after a challenging second round.
As a team, the Titans rank in the top five in total bridies (21 – 5th) and pars (114 – t-4th). Xanh has recorded eight birdies through 36 holes on the course, tied for third in total birdies. Janae Leovao is second in Par 3 average at 2.75 strokes per hole or 2-under in the tournament and Xanh is playing the Par 4s at 2-under or 3.90 strokes per hole.
The Titans will tee off in Wednesday’s final round beginning at 8 a.m. PT, going off of Hole 10 and paired with golfers from Mississippi State and Auburn. The trio of individual competitors from The Big West are set to start at 9:50 a.m. The Leovaos are paired with Vivian Lu of Washington and starting from the first tee, while Jalufka starts the round on Hole 10.
Despite another nine-stroke improvement on the final day from the Rawls Course at Texas Tech, UC Davis fell just shy of making it to Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, landing in seventh and just one stroke away from qualification.
The Aggies peppered their first nine holes with birdies, combining for eight as a team after starting on Hole 10. UC Davis put together their best round in Lubbock at 1-under 287 to finish with a 54-hole score of 26-over 890. Skyler May finished with an impressive 3-under 69 with sophomore Vani Karimanal coming in at 2-under 70 to move up 15 spots in the individual standings in Tuesday’s final round.
May, a senior from Stockton, Calif., finished the regional at 2-over 218 in a six-way tie for eighth. With just one low golfer not on a qualifying team advancing to the final site, May missed advancing by two strokes with Lousiane Gauther of Florida Gulf Coast taking the individual spot.
Paced by individual medalist Carolina Chacarra, ranked sixth in NCAA Division I, Wake Forest won the region as the lone under-par team. Texas, Iowa State, Tennessee and Purdue advance to the Championships final May 16-21 in Carlsbad, Calif.