University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Arizona
Men’s Golf Takes Down Arizona, Moves Into National Title Contest
June 02, 2026 | Men's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 7-seed UCLA men's golf team took down No. 6-seed Arizona, 3.5-1.5, in a match play semifinal contest on Tuesday in the late afternoon after defeating Texas in the quarterfinal that morning.
Junior Alex Papayoanou clinched the win on hole 17 for UCLA, finishing 2&1 against Arizona's Williams Wistrand. Papayoanou's victory secured the third point for UCLA, after freshmen Josh Kim and Tyler Loree had already won their respective matches in the late afternoon.
Kim won his contest against Arizona's Taishi Moto (1UP), and Loree registered a win over Arizona's Tianyi Xiong (2&1).
The Bruins will be playing for the third NCAA title in program history on Wednesday afternoon. UCLA previously won NCAA titles in 1988 and 2008, prior to the NCAA adopting a match-play format in the championship (that occurred in 2009). UCLA is scheduled to compete against No. 1-seed Auburn at 2:25 p.m. (PT). Golf Channel will carry coverage from Omni La Costa Resort & Spa at 3 p.m. (PT).
"Match play is so difficult," Bruins' head coach Armen Kirakossian said after UCLA's semifinal win on Tuesday. "There's so many emotions ebbing and flowing within each match itself, with the overall kind of thing going on. We had an emotional one versus Texas this morning, and were able to turn it around. These afternoon ones, I've been in them before. They're so tough. You are gassed physically. You're gassed mentally, emotionally, everything. It's just, can you dig a little deeper? Can you pull anything else out just to kind of get through these, and you see it. The golf gets just a touch sloppier. I'm just so proud of the way the guys just battled and brought it there, especially late."
Sophomore Baylor Larrabee's match against Arizona's Zach Pollo ended in a tie on the 18th hole. Arizona's Filip Jakubcik defeated senior Kyle An, 3&2, in a match that finished through 16 holes.
Kim, Loree, Papayoanou and Larrabee had held narrow leads over their competitors throughout the late afternoon. Kim registered the first win, and Loree followed shortly afterward with his victory. Larrabee was competing on hole 18 when Papayoanou clinched the match for UCLA.
The Bruins advanced to the NCAA Championship field last season (30 teams advance) but did not make the initial 15-team cut after three days of match play. This year, UCLA finished in a fourth-place tie through Sunday night, when the 30-team field was pared down to 15 squad. The Bruins narrowly advanced into match play on Monday evening after finishing in the top two teams out of a four-team playoff.
UCLA had entered Tuesday's match-play quarterfinal having played two match play contests earlier in the season – one win over USC (Jan. 19), and one loss to Arizona (Jan. 20) at the Copper Cup in Orange County. The Bruins' victory against Arizona on Tuesday afternoon helped UCLA to even their season series with the Wildcats (1-1) and punch the ticket to the NCAA Championship contest on Wednesday.
Tuesday's Quarterfinal – Match Results
(UCLA) Josh Kim def. (Arizona) Taishi Moto, 1UP
(UCLA) Tyler Loree def. (Arizona) Tianyi Xiong, 3&2
(UCLA) Baylor Larrabee tied with (Arizona) Zach Pollo
(Arizona) Filip Jakubcik def. Kyle An (UCLA), 3&2
(UCLA) Alex Papayoanou def. (Arizona) William Wistrand, 2&1
Advancing to Tuesday's Match Play: The Bruins advanced into match play on Monday evening as one of the top eight teams, out of 15 programs. UCLA found itself in a four-way tie for seventh place after the final round of stroke play (alongside North Carolina, Stanford and Tennessee). The Bruins and Stanford emerged from the four-team tiebreak. UCLA secured the No. 7 seed, drawing No. 2-seed Texas in Tuesday's morning quarterfinal contest. The NCAA Championships field began with 30 teams on Friday, with three rounds of stroke play from Friday through Sunday. After three rounds, the top 15 teams advanced into one final round of stroke play (on Monday).
UCLA's Baylor Larrabee: Bruins' sophomore Baylor Larrabee concluded stroke play on Monday evening as one of the top individual seven golfers (9-under 279, tied for sixth place on the individual leaderboard). Larrabee shot par (72) on Monday, having registered round scores of 5-under 67 on Friday, par 72 on Saturday and 4-under 68 on Sunday. Larrabee became the second UCLA golfer in as many seasons to finish stroke play among the top 10 individuals (last season, Pablo Ereño finished in sixth place, at 5-under 283).
