Getting a 1-2 finish from its Spanish standouts, Stanford continued its march toward a date in May in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship as the Cardinal rolled to a 22-shot victory in the Bruin Wave Invitational, presented by capillus, which wrapped up Feb. 23rd at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Paula Martin Sampedro, a junior and No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), made a birdie at the 18th hole to edge teammate and fellow Spaniard Andrea Revuelta, a sophomore and No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR, by a shot for the individual title, her third collegiate victory.
Martin Sampedro and Revuelta were two-thirds of the Spanish team that lost on a tiebreaker to the United States in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship last fall in Singapore after Spain, the U.S. and South Korea finished in a tie atop the leaderboard at Tanah Merah Country Club.
Martin Sampedro put the disappointment of Stanford’s loss to Northwestern in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. last spring behind her and embarked on a huge summer of 2025.
Martin Sampedro captured titles in The Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland and in the European Women’s Amateur Championship at Frankfurter Golf Club in Frankfurt, Germany and was the low amateur in the AIG Women’s Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.
Martin Sampedro had a share of the lead going into the final round as she opened with a 4-under-par 68 over 6,238-yard, par-72 Valencia layout and added a 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round Feb. 22nd.
Revuelta trailed her teammate by three shots as she opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.
It looked like Revuelta might have caught Martin Sampedro when Revuelta closed with an eagle at the par-5 18th hole to complete a 2-under 70 that gave her a 6-under 210 total.
But Martin Sampedro was able to make a birdie at the par-5 finisher for an even-par 72 that left her a shot ahead of Revuelta with a 7-under 209 total. It was only the second birdie of the day for Martin Sampedro, offsetting two bogeys in a really steady round.
Martin Sampedro became the fourth individual champion of the wraparound 2025-2026 season for Stanford, joining Revuelta, who had opened the spring season by taking the title in the Arizona Thunderbird Collegiate, Meja Ortengren, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR, and Megha Ganne, a senior from Holmdel, N.J. and No. 5 in the Women’s WAGR.
Stanford, playing out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, opened the Bruin Wave Invitational with a solid 7-under 281 followed by an 8-under 280 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round. The Cardinal closed with a 6-under 282 for a 21-under 843 total.
The victory in the Bruin Wave Invitational did nothing to threaten Stanford’s spot atop the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings.
The tournament co-hosts, Pepperdine, a perennial West Coast Conference power, and UCLA, Stanford’s one-time Pac-12 rival and now part of the Big Ten’s West Wing, accounted for the next two spots in the team standings.
The Waves opened with a 1-under 287 and matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day’s double round with a 288 before closing with a 2-over 290 to earn runnerup honors with a 1-over 865 total.
Pepperdine was led by Kylee Choi, a freshman from Murietta, Calif. who finished a shot behind Revuelta in third place in the individual standings with a 5-under 211 total. After opening with a 1-under 71, Kylee Choi carded back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds.
Another Pepperdine Choi, Eunseo Choi, a sophomore from New Zealand and No. 64 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in the top 10 as she ended up in a tie for ninth place with New Mexico State’s Emma Bunch, a senior from Denmark, at 1-under 215.
After opening with a 1-over 73, Eunseo Choi recorded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.
Pepperdine failed to advance to the NCAA Championship last spring as a seven seed in the Lexington Regional. The Waves fell two spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 8 to No. 10 with their runnerup finish at Valencia.
The Bruins finished a shot behind Pepperdine in third place with a 2-over 866 total. UCLA struggled in the opening round with an 8-over 296, but bounced back in a big way with the low team round of the tournament, a sizzling 15-under 273, in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.
UCLA struggled again in the final round, but its 9-over 297 total enabled it to hold third place.
The Bruins were led by Kacy Ly, a freshman from Thousand Oaks, Calif. and No. 99 in the Women’s WAGR who shared fourth place with Stanford’s Kelly Xu, a senior from Claremont, Calif. and No. 20 in the Women’s WAGR, each landing on 4-under 212.
After opening with a 2-under 70, Ly contributed a sparkling 5-under 67 to UCLA’s second-round surge that left her tied atop the leaderboard with Martin Sampedro. Ly closed with a 3-over 75.
UCLA reached the NCAA Championship last spring by finishing in fifth place as a five seed in the Charlottesville Regional, but was unable to make a run at a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa. UCLA is No. 11 in the Scoreboard rankings following its third-place finish in the Bruin Wave Invitational.
Reigning Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton finished 10 shots behind UCLA in fourth place with a 12-over 876 total.
After opening with a solid 3-under 285, the Titans added a 7-over 295 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with an 8-over 296.
Cal State Fullerton was led by Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith, a senior from Covina, Calif., and Davina Xanh, a senior from England, as they finished in a tie for sixth place with Stanford’s Ortengren at 3-under 213.
After opening with a 1-over 73, Zermeno Smith, the reigning Big West individual champion, added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 3-under 69. Xanh opened with a sparkling 4-under 68 and added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 1-under 71.
It was a historic spring for the Titans a year ago as they finished in fifth place as a 10 seed in the Gold Canyon Regional to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the history of the program. Cal State Fullerton sits at No. 36 in the Scoreboard rankings following its fourth-place finish in the Bruin Wave Invitational.
It was 20 more shots back to Oregon State in fifth place with a 32-over 896 total as the Beavers opened with a solid 4-over 292 and added a 303 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 301.
Orphaned by the sudden collapse of the Pac-12, Oregon State found refuge in the West Coast Conference and proceeded to capture the conference championship last spring. The Beavers failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as an eight seed in the Norman Regional.
Oregon State is No. 49 in the Scoreboard rankings following its fifth-place finish in the Bruin Wave Invitational.
Cal State Northridge finished three shots behind Oregon State in sixth place in the 14-team field with a 35-over 899 total as the Matadors opened with an 8-over 296 and added a 302 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 301.
Cal State Northridge, one of Cal State Fullerton’s Big West rivals, is 101st in the latest Scoreboard rankings.
Backing up Martin Sampedro and Revuelta for Stanford was Xu, who finished in a tie for fourth place with UCLA’s Ly at 4-under.
Sometimes overshadowed in the star-studded Stanford lineup, Xu was typically solid at Valencia. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Xu added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 3-under 69.
Ortengren was in contention for the individual title as she got off to a hot start in the final round after she had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.
Ortengren cooled off on the incoming nine at Valencia and closed with another even-par 72 to get a share of sixth place with the Cal State Fullerton pair of Zermeno Smith and Xanh at 3-under.
Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Anna Song, a freshman from Los Angeles, Calif. who finished in a tie for 14th place with a 1-over 217 total. Song posted a pair of 1-over 73s in the opening day’s double round before closing with a 1-under 71.
Anne Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias director of women’s golf at Stanford, brought along two players to compete as individuals with both Kaila Elsayegh, a freshman from Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Leigh Chien, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., finishing in the group tied for 54th place at 236.
Elsayegh registered a pair of 80s in the opening-day double round before closing with a 4-over 76. Chien opened with a 4-over 76 and added a 78 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with an 82.
Conspicuous by her absence was Ganne, winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline.
Ganne competed as an individual in the Arizona Thunderbird Intercollegiate and sat out the Bruin Wave Invitational.
The entire normal Stanford starting lineup, Martin Sampedro, Revuelta, Ortengren, Ganne and Xu, will be in the field when the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship tees off April 1 at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
New Mexico State’s Bunch opened with a solid 3-under 69 and matched par in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 74 to join Pepperdine’s Eunseo Choi in a tie for ninth place at 1-under.
The Aggies, a Conference USA representative, finished in eighth place in the team standings with a 50-over 914 total. They are No. 105 in the latest Scoreboard rankings.
