Graduate Student Earns Fourth Top 20 Finish
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Graduate student Annika Borrelli posted the California women’s golf team’s lowest score for the second straight day at the Palm Beach Gardens NCAA Regional, tying for 19th individually to lead the Golden Bears to a 10th-place team finish.
Borrelli carded a 1-over 73 on day three, giving her a final score of 5-over 221 to close out the three-day, 54-hole tournament. It was her fourth top-20 finish of the year. As a team, the Bears recorded a 13-over 301 in round three.
“Annika has been solid for us,” Cal head coach Nancy McDaniel said. “With her maturity and coming over from another program that she was a significant leader in, that comes real natural for her. She was able to step right in and do a good job with helping our culture.”
Consistent as she has been all season, junior Mika Jin was Cal’s second-lowest scorer. Jin (77-75-74 – 226) improved her score each day, finishing the final day with a 2-over 74 to tie for 36th.
Competing at their first NCAA Regional, freshmen Adora Liu and Olivia Lee finished one stroke apart. Liu (73-75-80 – 228) ended the competition in 42nd place, while Lee (75-78-76 – 229) shot a 4-over 76 in the final round to tie for 43rd.
Rounding out the Bears’ lineup, senior Kristine Tran competed as a substitute on day three and contributed to Cal’s team score with a 6-over 78.
“Kristine played her final 11 holes 1-under par and we were really proud of her for that,” McDaniel said. “Of course, it’s going to be hard to step in the third day not knowing the course while everyone else has been playing it. She stepped in with confidence and we were really encouraged by her performance and happy for her.”
Michigan State (+8) won the Palm Beach Gardens Regional, three strokes ahead of second-place Duke. No. 1 seed LSU (+15) finished one shot behind Texas (+14) and Northwestern (+14), barely edging out Arkansas (+16) for fifth place.
Of the six Bears who competed at the regional, four are set to be back in the lineup next year. Jin and fellow junior Cristina Ochoa will return with two years of NCAA Regional experience, while Liu and Lee will follow up solid freshman campaigns which saw them become mainstays this spring.
“Coming down the stretch, we had to organize a lot, dealing with a three hour time change and finals,” McDaniel said. “If you haven’t gone through it…
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