As the end of their season approaches, the Bruins have found success at a crucial time.

No. 25 UCLA women’s golf placed fourth at the PING/ASU Invitational, played at the Papago Golf Course in Phoenix from March 28 to March 30.

Freshman Angela Liu and senior Natalie Vo were the team’s two biggest contributors, finishing individually 11th and 12th, respectively.

“Being consistent with practice really helped me throughout this tournament,” Liu, who carded a 2-under 214, said. “Just building my trust and confidence on what I practice and then applying that in the tournament.”

The Irvine, California, local’s performance, which featured the Bruins’ sole eagle on the 9th hole of the second round, was Liu’s second top-20 placement of the year after placing 2nd at the Bruin Wave Invitational back in February.

For Vo, who said her fairway-finding and strong putting helped lower her score, familiarity with the course was also of assistance.

“This was my third year, so I think just knowing the course pretty well definitely helped me play well,” Vo said. “Knowing where to miss and where to try to avoid helped me, especially when … trying to not make super high numbers.”

UCLA senior Tiffany Le, surged nine places in round three with a 2-under 70 to reach 21st, and junior Meghan Royal similarly moved up 11 spots Sunday to claim 32nd, while freshman Francesca Fiorellini, placed 51st – a sharp departure from several weeks of posting team-leading scores.

“Natalie has been really close to getting her game where she wants, and she’s been knocking on the door, and finally, she was able to have that breakthrough this week at ASU,” said coach Alicia Um Holmes. “Tiffany and Megan also, they’re starting to right their golf games a little bit.”

Um Holmes added that the weather proved favorable for the Bruins, as predicted, heat mellowed out into temperatures and breezes reminiscent of Southern California conditions.

Outside the Bruin performance, the top of the leaderboard laid out exactly as the rankings would have predicted, with hosts No. 9 Arizona State taking the win, followed by No. 12 Northwestern and No. 21 Kansas in second and third, respectively. Including UCLA, the top four teams were the only four to finish under par.

And at this point in the year, results can be crucial. In a change for the 2024-2025 season, teams are required to be over .500 in head-to-head results against Division I opponents to qualify for regional play and have a chance at reaching nationals.

Um Holmes said the Bruins currently sit just under the magic mark, making the Big Ten Championship – played April 18 to April 20 – the last chance for the team to get over the barrier.

“We’ve got some work to do there, and we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Um Holmes said. “Taking it one day at a time and focusing on what we can do better each day and staying in the moment, I think that’s the message to a team right now.”

Um Holmes said the Bruins will have to overcome 11 conference foes and place seventh at the Big Ten Championship, assuming no ties, in order to break .500 barrier.

Liu, whose freshman season is nearing a close, said her mentality has been one of the biggest places she’s improved on in her inaugural collegiate campaign.

“Anything can happen, there’s going to be good days and bad days, but it’s good to be consistent, and eventually it’ll pay off,” Liu said.