In many professional sports, middle-of-the-pack performances can feel uniquely frustrating for fans and players – too low for chances of postseason success but too high for enticing draft picks.

These same factors are not always at play in collegiate golf.

No. 23 UCLA women’s golf tied for sixth at the Nanea Invitational in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i Oct. 29, where the squad placed in the middle of the 11-team field with an even-par 876. The event marked the Bruins’ final tournament of the fall season, leaving the team with a .638 record going into the break.

The Nanea Golf Club course is links style and sits on a slope exposed to the open ocean and its breezes. Sophomores Jenny Lee and Angela Liu both said the wind was the biggest weather factor throughout the event.

“There was definitely a wind – especially on the back nine, because it’s right next to the beach,” Lee said. “But we’re also prepared for the wind.”

The preparation paid off for Lee, who finished as the Bruins’ top scorer of the tournament. She achieved her second top-20 finish of the season with a 3-under 216 – good for a 16th-place tie. Liu and senior Meghan Royal finished not far behind Lee – Liu tied for 22nd place with a 1-under 218, and Royal placed 26th with an even 219.

Liu said her iron play bolstered her success – especially on a difficult 200-yard approach shot into the wind on the event’s final hole, which she placed on the green, pin-high.

Freshman Kacey Ly improved her performance on the final day, posting an even 73 and two birdies and elevating her placement from 44th to 39th with a 4-over 223. Sophomore Maye Huang rounded out the leaderboard in a tie for 47th place with a 9-over 228 – her first time falling outside the top 15 this year.

UCLA’s opponents delivered several standout performances, including No. 1 Stanford matching its placement to its rank with a 44-stroke-under-par score. No. 13 ASU, No. 6 Texas and No. 7 Auburn all made well under par and finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th, respectively. UC rival California edged out the Bruins by three strokes.

The Bruin roster has four new arrivals this year – two of whom played in Hawai’i. Liu said she has seen the group grow closer this fall.

“It was definitely a bonding trip for us,” Liu said. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been to Japan, and we’ve all gotten pretty close since that.”

And UCLA took advantage of its Aloha State sojourn, rounding out the trip with a snorkeling excursion.

“We saw a lot of fish,” Lee said. “It was the girls’ first time … doing snorkeling, and we all really had fun.”

With starfish and sea urchin sightings under their belts, the Bruins have nearly three months of training awaiting them before they return to play in late January.

Lee said she would return home to South Korea, planning to work on her swing with her personal coach. She added that she would also prioritize her physical training by getting workouts in during the winter.

Liu said she would also work on cleaning up her technique while focusing on short putting in the offseason. Looking back on the fall campaign, she added that she was happy to have accomplished some of her personal goals.

“It’s the last tournament of the season,” Liu said. “Playing my game and enjoying my time with the team, and I felt like I was able to do that.”