UH women’s golf team makes first NCAA Championships, a program first
UH’s women golfers earned their first NCAA Championships berth, finishing second at the Louisville regional behind an international roster and a culture built by Lydia Lasprilla.
On the University of Houston campus in Houston, the women’s golf team earned the first team berth to the NCAA Championships in program history, finishing second at the NCAA Simpsonville Regional and turning a national breakthrough into a clear program statement.
The Cougars posted an 11-under 853 at Louisville Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, then closed with a final-round 296 to secure their place in the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships. Houston’s second-round 275 was the low point of the event for the program’s run, lifting the Cougars to 19-under 557 and into the regional lead heading into the final day. University of Houston Athletics said the opening-round score was the lowest first round at an NCAA Regional in school history, a sign the team’s ceiling had already changed before the final putt dropped.
The NCAA Championships are set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, where the top eight teams will move on to match play for the national title. For Houston, that stage marks a sharp shift for a women’s program that had never advanced as a team, even as the school’s men’s golf tradition has long carried national weight with 16 NCAA titles, the most in the NCAA era.
Lydia Lasprilla, hired in June 2021 as the second head coach in Houston women’s golf history, has pushed the program into three straight NCAA Regional team appearances. Her roster reflects that reach. Natalie Saint Germain, a senior from Prague, Czech Republic, brought All-Big 12 second-team recognition and tournament experience. Alexa Saldana, a senior from Mexico City, Mexico, came through The Crown Golf Academy in Arlington, Texas. Moa Svedenskiold, a senior from Halmstad, Sweden, arrived after qualifying individually for the 2025 NCAA Championships. Emelia Vaisto, a sophomore from Seinäjoki, Finland, rounded out a lineup that also includes Katy native Maelynn Kim.
That mix of international talent and local ties has become part of Houston’s identity, and the players’ connection off the course has been just as central as their scores. Lasprilla has built the program around seeing the golfers as people first, not just scorecards, and the team’s first NCAA Championships appearance now stands as evidence that the approach has produced more than a one-week surge. It has created a women’s program with national reach, local relevance and a much larger place in Houston’s college sports profile.
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