DOWNEY, Calif. – Led by another top 10 finish from junior Lauren F. Lee, the Western Washington University women's golf team closed out their first spring tournament finishing 8th out of 16 teams at the LA Spring Kickoff.

 

WWU completed the two-round, 36-hole tournament with a team score of 52-over-par 620, with Tuesday's final round showing a four-stroke improvement from the first round. No. 7 nationally-ranked Cal State San Marcos recorded the team victory with a three-stroke win over tournament host Cal State LA. The tournament was held on the par 71 Rio Hondo Golf Club.

 

"This was a pretty solid showing for the team to open the spring season. We would love to clean up some of the big numbers, but overall I am very proud of their play after the winter break," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "Once we clean up some of those big numbers we will show we can compete with some of the top schools in our region. The talent and ability is evident in this group."

 

Lee recorded matching rounds of 3-over-par 74 to finish in a tie for 7th place in the 86-player field. Her 6-over-par two-day total included five birdies. In five tournaments in 2024-25 Lee has placed in the top 10 four times.

 

"Lauren continued her solid play with another top 10 placing," added Bennett. "She is driving the ball extremely well to put her in a good spot to post great scores."

 

Junior Emma Worgum fired a 7-over-par 78 Tuesday to move up six spots on the leaderboard tying for 47th place at 16-over-par 158 and junior Kasey Maralack placed in a tie for 53rd place at 17-over-par 159 (79-80). Freshman Lauren J. Lee featured the Vikings second-lowest total in the final round with a 5-over-par 76 and finished the tournament in a tie for 61st place at 21-over-par 163.

 

Tilda Kvarnrud of Cal State Monterey Bay vaulted up the leaderboard nine spots to claim individual medalist honors finishing at even-par 142 with rounds of 74 (+3) and 68 (-3). 

 

Here is a look at WWU's final individual results and the team leaderboard from the LA Spring Kickoff, a 16-team field competing in a 36-hole, two-day competition at Rio Hondo Golf Club in Downey, California:

 

WWU is back in action February 24-25 to compete in the two-day, 36-hole Pioneer Shootout hosted by Cal State East Bay at Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda, California. The Vikings have three remaining regular-season spring tournaments prior to the GNAC Championships April 21-22 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024-25 fall tournament schedule for the WWU Women's Golf program. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/WGolf.

 

 

The WWU women's golf team enters its 32nd season as an intercollegiate sport in 2024-25. WWU has a rich history on the links, winning the first five GNAC Championships beginning in 2011 and returned to the podium with back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. WWU made its 12th appearance in the NCAA II West Regional Championships in 2022 after earning the GNAC's automatic bid. WWU has also made six trips to the NCAA II National Championships. A Viking has been named the GNAC Player of the Year in nine of the 12 years it has been awarded, including 2021-22 award winner Megan Billeter. WWU has also produced the only two players in GNAC history to earn four First Team All-GNAC awards (Jenn Paul and Kristen Hansen) and has had nine All-Americans.