The women’s golf team took home UCLA’s 107th NCAA title on Saturday in Bryan, Texas.
Purdue took second with 1,177 (+25), and Louisiana State rounded out the top three with 1,181 (+29). The Boilermakers, the defending national champions, were close behind the Bruins for the entire competition. They nearly overtook UCLA on the final day, but their last efforts were to no avail as the Bruins outstretched their lead.
UCLA started and finished strong, ending each day in first place. Usually dominant Southern California and Alabama lacked their typical success, not breaking into the top 10 until the final day of competition. USC finished in a tie for fifth place with a score of 1,190 (+38), and Alabama took a tie for eighth with 1,193 (+41).
UCLA’s sophomore Tiffany Lua managed to get a hole-in-one on the 11th hole Friday before play was halted because of darkness.
Lua tied for fourth place with a score of 287 (-1), and redshirt sophomore Lee Lopez ended up with a score of 297 (+9), putting her in a tie for 26th place. Junior Stephanie Kono tied for 32nd with a score of 298 (+10), senior Glory Yang finished in 43rd with a score of 300 (+12), and freshman Ani Gulugian shot 305 (+17), good for a tie at 65th.
Women’s golf previously brought national titles to UCLA in 1992 and 2004. This is the team’s second under coach Carrie Forsyth.