Women’s Golf Tied for First-Round Lead at NCAA Simpsonville Regional

Monday, May 11

Louisville Golf Club – Simpsonville, Ky.

University of Houston

NCAA Simpsonville Regional

Women’s Golf Tied for First-Round Lead at NCAA Simpsonville Regional

5/11/2026 2:59:00 PM | Women's Golf

Live Scoring Watch (Babygrande Golf)Tee Times Louisville Golf Club Season Statistics

Senior Moa Svedenskiöld tied for sixth with 3-under 69; Senior Natalie Saint Germain, junior Maelynn Kim join her under par; Second Round begins Tuesday morning at Louisville Golf Club

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Houston Women's Golf program fired a team score of 6-under 282 to tie for the team lead following the First Round of the NCAA Simpsonville Regional at Louisville Golf Club on Monday afternoon.

It was the lowest First Round team score by the Cougars in an NCAA Regional in school history, topping the previous low of 4-under 284 during the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Pullman Regional at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash. (May 8-10, 2023).

Three Cougars posted sub-par scores Monday with four shooting par or better, both firsts in the school's NCAA Regional history. Senior Moa Svedenskiöld posted a 3-under 69, junior Maelynn Kim added a 70 and senior Natalie Saint Germain recorded a 71 to finish the first day among the Top-20 leaders on the 6,384-yard, par-72 course.

Making her fourth straight appearance in NCAA Regional play, Svedenskiöld began her day off No. 10 and alternated pars and birdies through her first four holes. After a bogey at No. 4, she drained two more birdies in a three-hole stretch at Nos. 15-17.

The Helsingborg, Sweden, native closed the Cougars' day with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole for the team's lowest round in an NCAA Regional since Annie Kim fired a 66 in the First Round of the NCAA Pullman Regional on May 8, 2023. She was tied with five others for sixth.

Kim made three birdies in her first six holes and started her second nine with a birdie on the 372-yard, par-4 first hole. The Katy, Texas, native rallied from a pair of bogeys to sink consecutive birdies on her final two holes and was tied for 12^th with five others at 70.

Saint Germain also is competing in her fourth straight NCAA Regional and was tied for 18^th with four others at 71. The Prague native sank birdies at No. 13 and No. 18 and rallied from her lone bogey at No. 2 to make seven straight pars to close her day.

Senior Alexa Saldana – also competing in her fourth NCAA Regional – was tied for 23^rd at 72 while sophomore Emilia Väistö – making her NCAA postseason debut – was tied for 36^th at 73.

#19 (4 seed) Mississippi joined the Cougars atop the team leaderboard at 282. #6 (1) Arkansas and (10) Xavier were tied for third at 284 while #7 (2) Auburn and #37 (6) Virginia Tech were tied for fifth at 286. #18 (3) Iowa State (287), #40 (7) Kansas State (289), (9) Charleston (289), #45 (8) Indiana (292) and (11) WKU (292) completed the Top-11 leaders.

Mississippi's Kajsalotta Svarvar, Kansas State's Nanami Nakashima and Isabella Johnson of Middle Tennessee were tied for the First-Round individual lead at 5-under 67. Emilie von Finckenstein (Charleston) and Sheridan Clancy (Indiana) were tied for fourth at 68 while Emily Matthews (Virginia Tech), Mary Miller (Mississippi), Reagan Bibilski (Arkansas), Isabel Brozena (Xavier_ and Maria Jose Barragan (BYU) joined Svedenskiöld in a tie for sixth.

Schools will play 18 holes each day beginning with a 7 a.m. (CDT) split-tee start with the Final Round teeing off Wednesday morning

The Top-Five teams from each NCAA Regional advance to play at the NCAA Championships, set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The 30^th-ranked Cougars are competing as the #5 seed at the NCAA Simpsonville Regional. This marks the second straight season in which Houston has received a #5 seed, tying for the highest entering the NCAA postseason in school history.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the NCAA Simpsonville Regional by clicking here.

TUNE IN
Fans can watch coverage of the NCAA Simpsonville Regional Second Round on Babygrande Golf beginning at 6:50 a.m. (CDT), Tuesday.

Subscriptions are available for each day or for the complete NCAA Regional.

TEE TIMES
For Tuesday's Second Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Mississippi and Arkansas.

Väistö begins the day off No. 1 at 7 a.m. (CDT) with Saldaña (7:11 a.m. CDT), Saint Germain (7:22 a.m. CDT), Kim (7:33 a.m. CDT) and Svedenskiöld (7:44 a.m. CDT) following.

Fans can find complete NCAA Simpsonville Regional tee times and pairings by clicking here.

HOUSTON in NCAA REGIONALS HISTORY
As a team, Houston has competed in NCAA Regional play dating back to the 2015 season with team appearances in nine of the last 10 years. The Cougars have been represented in each of the last 10 NCAA Regionals with Annie Kim competing as an individual at the 2022 NCAA Franklin Regional in Tennessee.

A year ago, the Cougars competed as the No. 5 seed on the Scarlet Course at the NCAA Columbus Regional and tied finished fifth on May 5-7, 2025. Houston finished five strokes shy of finishing among the Top-Five team leaders and advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history.

Svedenskiöld posted three straight rounds or par or lower and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career and finishing as the top individual not on a qualifying team with a score of 2-under 214. She joined All-Americans Karen Fredgaard (2021) and Leonie Harm (2018, 2016) as the only Cougars in school history to compete at the NCAA Championships.

Saint Germain, Saldaña and Svedenskiöld are competing in the fourth NCAA Regional of their award-winning careers while Kim made her third straight appearance in the NCAA postseason.

UP NEXT
The Top-Five teams from each NCAA Regional advance to play at the NCAA Championships, set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Women's Golf by providing NIL opportunities and by joining the P.A.R. 4 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Women's Golf for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
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