Three squads ranked among the top 11 in Division III headline the contingent of teams converging in Arcadia this weekend for the 2026 SCIAC Women's Golf Championship, hosted by Occidental College at Santa Anita Golf Course.
Championship Central
Winners of three conference titles in the last four years, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges once again enters the Championship as a top contender, having placed first in six dual and tournament events this year including both SCIAC 1 and 2 by a combined 12 strokes. Coaching Staff of the Year winner
John Wurzer also took the squad to the prestigious Jekyll Island Collegiate in Georgia, where the squad placed third behind the nation’s first- and third-ranked teams but ahead of No. 2 Carnegie Mellon University. Ranked sixth in Division III, the Sagehens have been led by a first-year duo ranked among the nation’s top 10 players in
Annabelle Chan and
Ann Zhao as well as a third rookie,
Lisa Chu (23), and holdover
Eunice Yi (35) with considerable veteran depth behind them.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and the University of Redlands are not far behind the Sagehens, ranking 10
th and 11
th in the nation after the pair tied for second in SCIAC 1 and the Athenas came within one stroke of the SCIAC 2 title. Former Athlete of the Year
Esther Lee tied for second in SCIAC 1 at Olivas Links, where the senior won top medalist honors as a rookie in 2023 with a record-setting 10-below par score.
Ella Chiu was the Athenas’ top finisher at SCIAC 2, tying for fourth place. An experienced Bulldogs roster has been fronted by
Chloe Phan, who tied for fifth at SCIAC 1, and
Kylie McGrath, who tied for ninth at the second SCIAC tournament, as well as
Savanah Christenson who ranks 50
th in the nation.
Top 10 SCIAC finishes by
Caroline Morris and
Tori Ruiz, combined with the presence of former Newcomer of the Year
Anna Poulin in the lineup have helped California Lutheran University steadily rise to just outside of the national Top 25. Occidental's
Rachel Aujero has positioned well for a strong career finish after a pair of Top-10 finishes at the SCIAC regular season tournaments, including tying for fourth at Olivas Links.
Lauren Lee has been the top individual finisher for Chapman University at both regular season conference tournaments with a high finish of tied-12
th at SCIAC 2.
Alexis Aguilera and
Taylor Ward each fronted the University of La Verne lineup once.
The three-day tournament will run from Thursday, Apr. 23-Saturday, Apr. 25 at Santa Anita Golf Course in Arcadia with tee times each morning set for at 9 a.m.
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