The Virginia women’s golf team will begin play at the NCAA Championships on May 22 at the Omni LaCosta Resort in Carlsbad, California. The Cavaliers are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the tournament and will tee off alongside Kentucky and LSU at 7:47 a.m. Pacific Time.
This event is significant as it brings together 30 teams competing for both national and individual titles. After three days of stroke play, only the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams advance to a final round that determines the individual champion.
Virginia qualified for this year’s championships after tying for fourth place at the Chapel Hill Regional, where Jaclyn LaHa led with a tenth-place finish. Elsie MacCleery also performed strongly, tying for fourteenth and posting a career-best single-round score during regional play. Last season, Virginia finished eighth overall after advancing to match play for the first time since 2016.
The Cavaliers’ lineup features Jaclyn LaHa, Remi Bacardi, Kennedy Swedick, Elsie MacCleery, Mira Berglund, and alternate Miranda Lu. LaHa was recently named to the All-ACC Women’s Golf Team for her performance this season; she leads Virginia with a stroke average of 71.00—the lowest single-season scoring average in program history—and has recorded seven top-10 finishes including her first medalist win at the Terps Invitational.
Head Coach Ria Scott is leading Virginia to its sixth team appearance at NCAA Championships under her tenure. She previously guided Oregon to postseason play throughout her nine seasons there and has taken UVA to regional competition every eligible year since joining as head coach except during the canceled postseason in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Golf Channel will provide coverage beginning May 25 through May 27 as match play progresses toward crowning this year’s champions.
