Monday, February 24
Santa Clarita, CA
UCLA
vs
Bruin Wave Invitational
Photo by: Vinny Lavalsiti
Women’s Golf, Fiorellini Earn Wins at Bruin Wave Invitational
February 24, 2025 | Women's Golf
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The UCLA women's golf team secured its first win of the season by 22 strokes with a score of +6, 870 at the Bruin Wave Invitational hosted at Valencia Country Club on Tuesday. Freshman Francesca Fiorellini claimed the first medal of her collegiate career thanks to a -9, 207 finish.
UCLA head coach Alicia Um Holmes now has five stroke play tournament wins in just two seasons since taking over as leader of the program.
Fiorellini's teammates celebrated the top-ranked Italian amateur's historic performance by dousing her with a water bottle shower.
The Bruins shot a collective +8, 296 in the final round after posting scores of 285 and 289 in rounds one and two on Monday. Baylor finished second among the 11 other teams competing at the Bruin Wave Invitational with a score of +28, 892.
Senior Natalie Vo was steady throughout the week with scores for 73-74-73 to finish in a tie for sixth for her first top-10 of the season. Vo's highlight of the tournament was on the par four fourth when she drained a 50-footer for birdie.
UCLA Leaderboard
1. Fiorellini (-9; 69-68-70)
2. Liu (+2; 68-73-77)
T-6. Vo (+4; 73-74-73)
T-31. Royal (+14; 76-78-76)
T-31. Seo (+14; 75-74-81)
Next Up
UCLA will play 54 holes over three days at the highly-competitive Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from March 3-5 at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C. The event will be televised on Golf Channel.
Day One Recap
Women's Golf Takes 15-Shot Lead into Final Round at Bruin Wave Invitational
Feb. 24, 2025
UCLA shot -2, 574 over 36 holes on day one of the Bruin Wave Invitational at Valencia Country Club on Monday. The Bruins head into tomorrow's final round with a 15-shot lead over second-place Arizona.
UCLA freshmen Francesca Fiorellini (-7, 137) and Angela Liu (-3, 141) sit in first and second place, respectively, on the individual leaderboard after two rounds. Only one other golfer – Charlotte Back of Arizona – is under par.
There are 72 total golfers in the 12-team field.
Fiorellini, competing in her first spring event in 2025, recorded the first two sub-70 rounds of her collegiate career with a 69 and 68 today. The top-ranked Italian amateur started the day with a bogey-free 69 in round one with birdies on each of her last two holes on 17 and 18. She followed that performance with five more birdies and just one bogey in round two.
Liu, playing in just her third collegiate tournament, recorded a team-high seven birdies in round one en route to shooting a -4, 68.
Senior Natalie Vo is the third Bruin to rest within the top 10 at +3, T-6th after Monday. Vo was steady with scores of 73 and 74. Sophomore Jennifer Seo rounded out UCLA's counting scores in each of the rounds (75-74).
UCLA Leaderboard
1. Fiorellini (-7; 69-68)
2. Liu (-3; 68-73)
T-6. Vo (+3; 73-74)
T-16. Seo (+5; 75-74)
T-30. Royal (+10; 76-78)
UCLA head coach Alicia Um Holmes now has five stroke play tournament wins in just two seasons since taking over as leader of the program.
"I'm thrilled that our team earned this win for many reasons. We've struggled with adversity lately, losing two seniors this year to the Epson Tour, coupled with a poor performance in our opening tournament. To have them bounce back and respond in this fashion is huge for our team's morale. We've got a talented bunch, and they're starting to believe more in their abilities," Um Holmes said. "Also, pretty darn cool to see our freshmen step up this week to lead the team to our first victory of the season. Francesca played next-level golf, winning by 10 shots on a very challenging course. And Angela showed signs of being the elite player she is, knocking down pins the entire tournament. I'm excited for our young ones and what's to come."
Fiorellini concluded the final round with birdies on four of her final six holes to improve to 9-under (69-68-70) for the tournament and etch her name into the Bruin Wave Invitational record book with the lowest score in tournament history. Her finish bested Pepperdine golfer Danielle Kang's previous mark of -8, 208 set in 2010.Fiorellini's teammates celebrated the top-ranked Italian amateur's historic performance by dousing her with a water bottle shower.
UCLA golfers Fiorellini, Tiffany Le and Angela Liu finished 1-2-3 in the 72-golfer field. Le's runner-up placement was her top result in a Bruin uniform and best since winning two titles while competing for UC Riverside.First career victory shower for Francesca Fiorellini! ????#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/5sKB7Tk5ZF
— UCLA Women's Golf (@UCLAWomensGolf) February 25, 2025
The Bruins shot a collective +8, 296 in the final round after posting scores of 285 and 289 in rounds one and two on Monday. Baylor finished second among the 11 other teams competing at the Bruin Wave Invitational with a score of +28, 892.
Senior Natalie Vo was steady throughout the week with scores for 73-74-73 to finish in a tie for sixth for her first top-10 of the season. Vo's highlight of the tournament was on the par four fourth when she drained a 50-footer for birdie.
UCLA Leaderboard
1. Fiorellini (-9; 69-68-70)
2. Liu (+2; 68-73-77)
T-6. Vo (+4; 73-74-73)
T-31. Royal (+14; 76-78-76)
T-31. Seo (+14; 75-74-81)
Next Up
UCLA will play 54 holes over three days at the highly-competitive Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from March 3-5 at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C. The event will be televised on Golf Channel.
Day One Recap
Women's Golf Takes 15-Shot Lead into Final Round at Bruin Wave Invitational
Feb. 24, 2025
UCLA shot -2, 574 over 36 holes on day one of the Bruin Wave Invitational at Valencia Country Club on Monday. The Bruins head into tomorrow's final round with a 15-shot lead over second-place Arizona.
UCLA freshmen Francesca Fiorellini (-7, 137) and Angela Liu (-3, 141) sit in first and second place, respectively, on the individual leaderboard after two rounds. Only one other golfer – Charlotte Back of Arizona – is under par.
There are 72 total golfers in the 12-team field.
Fiorellini, competing in her first spring event in 2025, recorded the first two sub-70 rounds of her collegiate career with a 69 and 68 today. The top-ranked Italian amateur started the day with a bogey-free 69 in round one with birdies on each of her last two holes on 17 and 18. She followed that performance with five more birdies and just one bogey in round two.
Liu, playing in just her third collegiate tournament, recorded a team-high seven birdies in round one en route to shooting a -4, 68.
Senior Natalie Vo is the third Bruin to rest within the top 10 at +3, T-6th after Monday. Vo was steady with scores of 73 and 74. Sophomore Jennifer Seo rounded out UCLA's counting scores in each of the rounds (75-74).
UCLA Leaderboard
1. Fiorellini (-7; 69-68)
2. Liu (-3; 68-73)
T-6. Vo (+3; 73-74)
T-16. Seo (+5; 75-74)
T-30. Royal (+10; 76-78)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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