Canales Named UCLA Student-Athlete of Week, Presented by Ready

Sophomore Caroline Canales of the UCLA women’s golf team has been selected the UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by Ready, for Jan. 23-29.

Canales claimed her first collegiate medal with a career-best 7-under 65 at The Match in the Desert at Superstition Mountain Golf Course to lead the Bruins to their first victory of the season. UCLA (-12) defeated Arizona State by one stroke. The Bruins’ 12-under performance is tied for the sixth-best score in relation to par for a single round in program history. The last time UCLA shot 12-under or better in a single round was in Fall 2018 when it scorched Red Sky Ranch Golf Club in the third round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge for a 17-under 271.

Canales’ 7-under 65 was the lowest round shot by a Bruin since Fall 2018 when Mariel Galdiano shot a 9-under 62 at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Canales recorded eight total birdies in her round, including a string of three straight on holes 5-7. It was the first win by a Bruin other than Emma Spitz since Patty Tavatanakit at the 2019 NCAA East Lansing Regional. The Calabasas, Calif. native now leads the Bruins with a 71.1 scoring average and is tied for the team lead with five total under par rounds. She is the only Bruin to have a counting round in every round UCLA has played this season (11 rounds). Canales entered the spring season ranked in the top 50 for the first time in her collegiate career at No. 34.

This is Canales’ first UCLA student-athlete of the week award of the season and of her career.

Also nominated: Emily Bessoir, W. Basketball; Eva Carlson, Swim & Dive; Jordan Chiles, Gymnastics; Ido David, M. Volleyball; Jaime Jaquez Jr., M. Basketball; Emma Lineback, W. Water Polo; Michael Pinckney, M. Track & Field; Rose Pittman, W. Track & Field.