The road to the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa
Resort & Spa is about to enter the home stretch with conference
championships teeing off later this month.
Virginia, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, took that
road all the way to the match-play bracket at La Costa a year ago before the
Cavaliers finally fell to powerful Stanford in the quarterfinals.
It says here, if you’re one of those last eight teams standing
for match play at the NCAA Championship, you were a great team and you had a
great season.
Virginia’s final tuneup before the ACC Championship gets
under way April 16 at Porter’s Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C. came in
the Terps Invitational, which wrapped up Monday at the University of Maryland
Golf Course in College Park, Md.
Virginia, behind individual champion Jaclyn LaHa, a junior
from Pleasanton, Calif., overtook Kentucky, out of the Southeastern Conference,
to capture the team crown, its first of the wraparound 2025-2026 season with a 4-under-par
860 total.
LaHa was in the lineup for Virginia in that quarterfinal
match with Stanford nearly a year ago and delivered the lone full point the
Cavaliers earned.
An Easter Sunday double round was played in changeable
conditions. Pretty sure it was still fairly warm in the morning with rain
bringing in a change in the weather – and a brief interruption of play -- during
the first round. By the end of the day, the temperatures were falling and some
wind was bringing in a return to more March-like conditions.
LaHa struggled a little in the morning with a 2-over 74 over
the 6,244-yard, par-72 University of Maryland layout, but unfurled the best
individual round of the tournament, a 5-under 67, to take a three-shot lead
into Monday’s final round.
A final round of 1-under 70 in chilly, windy conditions gave
LaHa a 5-under 211 and a four-shot victory, her first collegiate win.
Virginia, No. 37 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by
clippd, rankings, opened with a 3-over 291 and, fueled by LaHa’s sparkling
effort, added a 6-under 282 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before
closing with a 1-under 287 in Monday’s final round.
Virginia ended up with four top-10 finishers in the Terps
Invitational.
Kennedy Swedick, a sophomore from Albany, N.Y., finished
among a trio of players tied for third place with a 1-over 217 total. After
matching par in the opening round with a 72, Swedick added a 2-over 74 in the
afternoon of Sunday’s double round before contributing a critical 1-under 71 to
the Cavaliers’ closing push.
Elsie MacCleery, a freshman from Crozet, Va., and Mira
Berglund, a junior from Sweden, finished among a group of five players who
landed in a tie for sixth place at 2-over 218.
MacCleery added a solid 1-under 71 in the afternoon of
Sunday’s double round to her opening round of 2-over 74 before closing with a 1-over
73. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Berglund added
back-to-back 1-over 73s in the final two rounds.
Kentucky, the highest-ranked team in the Terps Invitational
field at No. 33 in the Scoreboard rankings, was right on Virginia’s heels the
whole way.
After matching Virginia’s opening round of 3-over 291, the
Wildcats matched par in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a 288 that
left them six shots behind the Cavaliers going into the final round.
Kentucky actually had the lead at one point in Monday’s
final round and its 5-under 283 was the best round of the day. But the
Wildcats’ 2-under 862 total left them two shots behind Virginia in second
place.
Virginia and Kentucky were the only two teams to finish in
red figures in the team competition.
Kentucky was led by Karlie Campbell, a sophomore from
Ethridge, Tenn. who was the only other player to finish under par as she earned
runnerup honors with a 1-under 215 total that left her four shots behind LaHa.
After struggling to a 4-over 76 in the opening round,
Campbell carded a sparkling 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double
round before closing with a 2-under 70.
The Wildcats had two other top-10 finishers in the
individual standings.
C.A. Carter, a sophomore home girl from Lexington, Ky., closed
with a 3-under 69 to join Virginia’s Swedick and High Point’s Makayla Grubb, a
freshman from Stafford, Va., in the tie for third place at 1-over. Carter had
opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Sunday’s
double round.
Kentucky’s Raleygh Simpson, a sophomore from Kerrville,
Texas, landed in the group tied for sixth place at 2-over as she matched par in
the final round with a 72 after posting a pair of 1-over 73s in Sunday’s double
round.
The Wildcats would appear to be in pretty good shape to earn
an at-large bid to an NCAA regional after failing to hear their name called a
year ago when Kentucky hosted the Lexington Regional on its home course.
The SEC Championship, the most competitive conference
championship in the country, tees off April 17 at the Pelican Golf Club
Belleair, Fla.
It was 23 shots back from Kentucky to host Maryland, No. 72
in the Scoreboard rankings, in third place in the team standings with a 21-over
885 total.
After opening with a 10-over 298, the Terrapins, a Big Ten
representative, added a 5-over 293 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round
before closing with a 294.
Maryland was led by Anna Pillard, a sophomore from France
who landed among the quintet of players tied for sixth place at 2-over. Pillard
sandwiched an even-par 72 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a pair
of 1-over 73s.
High Point, a Big South Conference entry, finished two shots
behind Maryland in fourth place with a 23-over 887 total. The Panthers, No. 62
in the Scoreboard rankings, bounced back from an opening-round 304 with a
5-over 293 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round and a 2-over 290 in the
final round.
High Point was led by Grubb, who closed with a solid 2-under
70 to join Virginia’s Swedick and Kentucky’s Carter in the tie for third place
at 1-over. Grubb had opened with a 3-over 75 before matching par in the
afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a 72.
The Panthers will tee off in the Big South Championship
April 19 at the Fripp Island Golf Resort on Fripp Island, S.C.
A couple more Big Ten entries, Wisconsin and Michigan,
accounted for the next two spots in the team standings as the Badgers, No. 91
in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in fifth place with a 24-over 888 total,
and the Wolverines, No. 57 in the Scoreboard rankings, ended up sixth with a
28-over 892 total.
Wisconsin bounced back from an opening-round 302 with a 4-over
292 in Sunday afternoon’s second round and a 294 in the final round.
After opening with a 300, Michigan put together a solid
2-over 290 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 302.
Delaware, No. 110 in the Scoreboard rankings, capped a
pretty solid wraparound 2025-’26 season by finishing three shots behind
Michigan in seventh place with a 31-over 895 total.
The Blue Hens added an 11-over 299 in the afternoon of
Sunday’s double round to their opening-round 303 before closing with a solid
5-over 293.
Delaware will tee it up in the Conference USA Championship
for the first time beginning April 20 at Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco,
Texas.
Penn State, No. 73 in the Scoreboard rankings, was another
six shots behind Delaware in eighth place with a 37-over 901 total as the
Nittany Lions opened with an 11-over 299 and added a 304 in the afternoon of
Sunday’s double round before closing with a 298.
The Nittany Lions, playing out of the Big Ten, were led by
sophomore Hannah Rabb, the Pennsylvania high school champion in Class AA in
2022 as a junior at Warrior Run and the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur
champion, as she rounded out the fivesome tied for sixth place at 2-over.
Rabb, who has been solid for Penn State after transferring
from James Madison, sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double
round with a pair of 1-under 71s.
It was the final tuneup for the Big Ten contingent in the
field for the Terps Invitational -- host Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn
State -- before the conference championship, which, in a nod to the
conference’s new West Wing, heads west and will tee off April 24 at Oakmont
Country Club in Glendale, Calif.
Richmond, which claimed the Atlantic 10 team title in its
first year in the conference a year ago, finished five shots behind Penn State
in ninth place in the 16-team field with a 32-over 906 total.
After opening with an 11-over 299, the Spiders, No. 143 in
the Scoreboard rankings, added a 302 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round
before closing with a 305.
Richmond will open defense of its A-10 title back at the
Evermore Resort in Orlando, Fla. where it captured the crown and the
Charlottesville Regional bid that went with it last spring, when the conference
championship tees off April 20.
Rounding out the lineup for Virginia was Remi Bacardi, a
freshman from Miami, Fla. who finished in the group tied fore 14th
place with a 5-over 221 total. Bacardi added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of
Sunday’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 – both counters for the
Cavaliers – before closing with a 77.
Miranda Lu, a freshman from Canada, competed as an
individual for Virginia and finished among the group tied for 28th
with a 9-over 225 total. Lu added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Sunday’s
double round to her opening-round 76 before finishing up with a 75.
Leading the way for Delaware was sophomore Kate Roberts, the
District One Class AAA champion in 2023 as a senior at Phoenixville who
finished among the trio tied for 25th place with an 8-over 224
total.
Roberts, who earned a runnerup finish while competing as an
individual for Delaware in last month’s Nashville Invitational at the
Presidents’ Reserve Golf Club in Hermitage, Tenn., sandwiched a 4-over 76 in
the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a pair of 2-over 74s.
It was another solid showing for junior Marissa Marosh, a
two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette who finished in the group
tied for 28th place with a 9-over 225 total. Marosh added a 3-over
75 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to her opening-round 78 before
matching par in the final round with a 72.
Junior Mary Grace Dunigan, who helped Unionville claim a
state team crown in Class AAA as a sophomore in 2020, finished in the group
tied for 34th place for the Blue Hens with a 226 total. Dunigan
struggled in Sunday’s double round, adding an 80 to her opening round of 4-over
76, but finished strong, closing with a 2-under 70.
Anushka Sawant, a sophomore from South Brunswick, N.J.,
finished in the group tied for 43rd place with a 228 total as she
opened with a 3-over 75, added a 76 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round
and closed with a 77.
Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Hyunji Kim, a sophomore
from England who finished in a tie for 67th place with a 233 total.
Kim bounced back from an opening-round 81 by matching par in the afternoon of
Sunday’s double round with a 72 before struggling again in the final round with
an 80.
Backing up Rabb for Penn State was Audrey Lam, a freshman
from Belgium who finished among the group tied for 28th place with a
9-over 225 total. Lam, who has been solid all season for the Nittany Lions, recorded
a pair of 1-over 73s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 79.
Mara King, a freshman from Lake Mary, Fla., finished in the
group tied for 43rd place at 228 as she added a 6-over 78 in the
afternoon of Sunday’s double round to her opening-round 76 before closing with
her best round of the tournament, a 2-over 74.
Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun, a sophomore from Thailand,
finished among the group tied for 63rd place with a 232 total.
Jiratthitinun added a 5-over 77 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to
her opening-round 80 before finishing up with her best round of the tournament,
a 3-over 75.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Lillian Guleserian, a
freshman from Westwood, Mass. who finished in a tie for 84th place
with a 239 total. After opening with a 7-over 79, Guleserian struggled to an 82
in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 78.
Penn State head coach Kristen Simpson brought along Lauren
Thompstone, a sophomore from France, to compete as an individual and Thompstone
just might have earned herself a spot in the starting lineup for the Big Ten
Championship as she finished alone in 13th place with a 4-over 220
total.
After opening with a 4-over 76, Thompstone added a 1-over 73
in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before finishing strong with a
1-under 71 in Monday’s final round.
Lam had led the way by finishing in a tie for 11th
place in the individual standings as Penn State finished in seventh place with
a 28-over 892 total in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, which wrapped up
March 30th at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.
Lam closed with a solid 1-under 71 to end up with a 3-over
219 total.
When Richmond tees it up in the A-10 Championship at the Evermore
Resort, senior Hannah Lydic, who starred scholastically at Sussex Academy, will
be defending the individual title she won a year ago that sparked the furious rally
that gave the Spiders the conference championship.
Lydic tuned up for her title defense by finishing among the
group tied for 43rd place with a 228 total in the Terps
Invitational. Lydic opened with a solid 1-over 73, but struggled a little after
that, adding a 78 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with
a 77.