Completed Event: Women's Golf at Rainbow Wahine Invitational on October 20, 2025 , , 12th of 19
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at Rainbow Wahine Invitational
12th of 19
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Vakasiuola's NCAA regional 1st round ties for 15th
5/11/2026 1:54:00 PM | Women's Golf
GCU freshman cards 6 birdies to play even par through 18 holes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Through one round of the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional at University of Michigan Golf Course, Grand Canyon freshman Alexis Vakasiuola played to a first-day tie for 15th in her very first national postseason tournament Monday.
Playing as an individual qualifier for GCU, Vakasioula carded an even-par scorecard that featured six birdies, five of which were carded through her first nine holes.
She is tied for 15th with six other golfers and sits five strokes back of overall leader Ahley Yun of Northwestern. Vakasiuola is trying to win the individual automatic qualifying spot for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California. The top individual who is not a part of the five advancing teams takes that spot.
The Arizona native is tied for seventh among non-qualifying individuals after 18 holes and is just three back of UNLV's Pin His Chen and Oakland's Olivia Hemmila.
Northwestern and Ohio State are tied for the team lead with USC, Duke and UCF rounding out the top five.
With nerves ahead of her first tee shot in the regional round, Vakasiuola had an uncharacteristic double bogey to open her day. But her response was on brand when she made a birdie on the next hole with a chip shot that trickled to within 2 feet of the cup.
"Today was definitely a day," Vakasiuola said. "There were a lot of good shots and a lot of questionable shots. I started out a bit nervous but was able to get it back on the next hole. I was going back and forth with bogeys and birdies but was able to finish out the front nine with a birdie. From there, I was able to calm my pace as my back nine was a lot smoother."
Vakasiuola had just seven pars to her round, with the first coming on the par-4 17th hole, her seventh hole of the day. When she bogeyed, she countered with a birdie and never let the game get too far away from her true form as the Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
The Lopes freshman shot 1 under on her front nine (holes 10-18) and finished the 18th hole with a birdie, sinking a 12-foot putt in front of one of the largest crowds of any pairing.
Vakasiuola was paired with host Michigan's Lauren Sung, who drew local spectators following each and every shot around the course. The pairing was as even as they come, with Vakasiuola entering the tournament ranked No. 172 to Sung's No. 175. Both finished the first round at even.
"I was definitely leaning into the experience," Vakasiuola said. "There was definitely a crowd, but I felt like I was able to block that out and get through it.
"It is much colder here than back home at this time of the year, and the wind is prominent with big gusts. The greens are very large, but I am used to reading greens of all kinds and I think that helped a lot with breaks and speeds today."
Vakasiuola settled in on her back nine, notching pars on six of her first seven holes between holes 1-7. The shot of the day came on the par-3 eighth hole, where her approach shot from 149 yards out landed on the fringe and trickled a mere 3 feet from the hole. She tapped in for her sixth birdie of the day.
"I think for her first regional as a freshman, to shoot even par on this golf course, it's a very tough test and I am very proud of her," GCU head coach Brent Nicoson said. "She got off to a tough start there on hole 10, but for a freshman to be nervous and make double right out of the gate to bounce back and shoot under par on her front nine, that tells me what I need to know about Alexis."
Her birdie count of six is second most among the 66 golfers participating. She is also in the top 10 in par-3 and par-5 scoring.
"The trick here at U of M are the greens," Nicoson said. "From tee to green, it's a great golf course. It's challenging, but the greens are where it gets more challenging. We missed some of those today where it's harder to get up and down. But she kept bouncing back with birdies. Tomorrow, hopefully she has those nerves wiped away and we can go out and play confident."
Vakasiuola will begin on the first hole Tuesday at 6:50 a.m. (Phoenix time).
Playing as an individual qualifier for GCU, Vakasioula carded an even-par scorecard that featured six birdies, five of which were carded through her first nine holes.
She is tied for 15th with six other golfers and sits five strokes back of overall leader Ahley Yun of Northwestern. Vakasiuola is trying to win the individual automatic qualifying spot for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California. The top individual who is not a part of the five advancing teams takes that spot.
The Arizona native is tied for seventh among non-qualifying individuals after 18 holes and is just three back of UNLV's Pin His Chen and Oakland's Olivia Hemmila.
Northwestern and Ohio State are tied for the team lead with USC, Duke and UCF rounding out the top five.
With nerves ahead of her first tee shot in the regional round, Vakasiuola had an uncharacteristic double bogey to open her day. But her response was on brand when she made a birdie on the next hole with a chip shot that trickled to within 2 feet of the cup.
"Today was definitely a day," Vakasiuola said. "There were a lot of good shots and a lot of questionable shots. I started out a bit nervous but was able to get it back on the next hole. I was going back and forth with bogeys and birdies but was able to finish out the front nine with a birdie. From there, I was able to calm my pace as my back nine was a lot smoother."
Vakasiuola had just seven pars to her round, with the first coming on the par-4 17th hole, her seventh hole of the day. When she bogeyed, she countered with a birdie and never let the game get too far away from her true form as the Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
The Lopes freshman shot 1 under on her front nine (holes 10-18) and finished the 18th hole with a birdie, sinking a 12-foot putt in front of one of the largest crowds of any pairing.
Vakasiuola was paired with host Michigan's Lauren Sung, who drew local spectators following each and every shot around the course. The pairing was as even as they come, with Vakasiuola entering the tournament ranked No. 172 to Sung's No. 175. Both finished the first round at even.
"I was definitely leaning into the experience," Vakasiuola said. "There was definitely a crowd, but I felt like I was able to block that out and get through it.
"It is much colder here than back home at this time of the year, and the wind is prominent with big gusts. The greens are very large, but I am used to reading greens of all kinds and I think that helped a lot with breaks and speeds today."
Vakasiuola settled in on her back nine, notching pars on six of her first seven holes between holes 1-7. The shot of the day came on the par-3 eighth hole, where her approach shot from 149 yards out landed on the fringe and trickled a mere 3 feet from the hole. She tapped in for her sixth birdie of the day.
Our vote 🗳️ for shot of the day!
— GCU Women's Golf (@GCU_WGolf) May 11, 2026
149 yard par 3 to within 3 feet! pic.twitter.com/OcV3FkvecO
"I think for her first regional as a freshman, to shoot even par on this golf course, it's a very tough test and I am very proud of her," GCU head coach Brent Nicoson said. "She got off to a tough start there on hole 10, but for a freshman to be nervous and make double right out of the gate to bounce back and shoot under par on her front nine, that tells me what I need to know about Alexis."
Her birdie count of six is second most among the 66 golfers participating. She is also in the top 10 in par-3 and par-5 scoring.
"The trick here at U of M are the greens," Nicoson said. "From tee to green, it's a great golf course. It's challenging, but the greens are where it gets more challenging. We missed some of those today where it's harder to get up and down. But she kept bouncing back with birdies. Tomorrow, hopefully she has those nerves wiped away and we can go out and play confident."
Vakasiuola will begin on the first hole Tuesday at 6:50 a.m. (Phoenix time).
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