CCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION PAGE

BROOKS -- Cal State LA's women's golf team put in its final preparations on Sunday for the third California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships.

The tournament, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, will begin Monday morning at the Yocha Dehe Golf Club with Chico State serving as the host. Cal State LA, which started its golf program in the 2017-18 season, will look to continue its rapid ascent in the collegiate golf landscape. In 2018, the Golden Eagles were sixth in the conference with a team score of 1,192, which was 232 shots behind the fifth-place finisher. In 2019, the Golden Eagles were again sixth, but this time with a score of 967 and just 32 shots out of fifth.

In 2020, the Golden Eagles finished ahead of conference competition for the first time during the regular season and were looking forward a competitive finish in the conference tournament.

This week, the Golden Eagles expect to be right in the mix in a talented field of CCAA programs. Cal State LA is seeded fifth in the field with a national ranking of 40 in the most recent golfstat.com rankings. Cal State San Marcos, which won the first two conference tournament titles in 2018 and 2019, is the top seed and has a national ranking of 8. Cal State Monterey Bay is 29, Sonoma State is 35, Cal State East Bay is 36, Cal State LA is 40 and Chico State is 105, placing all six CCAA programs among the nation's elite.

The tournament also has ramifications for the NCAA Division II Regionals with the top 12 teams in a super region that includes schools from Colorado and Texas advancing to compete at the NCAA Division II Super Regional on May 2-4. In the first published rankings, Cal State San Marcos is third, Sonoma State is seventh, Cal State Monterey Bay is 12th and Cal State LA is 14th. The conference tournament winner earns an automatic qualifying bid. For the others, the conference tournament is the final competition before the regional field is selected.

Cal State LA enters the tournament with some confidence. The Golden Eagles shot their best-ever 36-hole score of 600 while finishing sixth out of 28 teams at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic. The Golden Eagles were second after one round with a score of 297 and followed that up with a score of 303 in the final round.

Marie Dean and Morgan Sjoerdsma were both battling for the tournament lead after the opening round. Dean had her best round as a Golden Eagles with a 70 and finished in a tie for eighth with a total of 146. Sjoerdsma, who had a string of three straight top-10 finishes, had rounds of 72 and 77 for a 149. She holds the program record for low scores over 18 holes (69) and 36 holes (144).

Caitlyn Jimenez had a terrific showing at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic, turning in rounds of 76 and 74 and recording her best 36-hole score of 150.

Pratima Sherpa has been a steady contributor and has posted scores of 155 or 156 in four of her last six tournaments. She has an average score of 79.32 per round, which is third on the team.

Emily Wang, like Sherpa and Jimenez, improved her score from the first round to the second round of the RJGA Palm Valley Classic and her final round of 77 was her best of the season.

Cal State LA will begin the opening round at 8 a.m. on Monday. There will be live scoring provided as well as coverage on a pair of holes during Wednesday's final round.

For complete tournament information, click HERE.