The California State University Fullerton (CSUF) women’s golf Titans have lived up to high expectations through the first half of the 2025–26 season. Coming off a historic year in which they won The Big West Championship for the first time since the program was reintroduced in 2009–10, the team finished third or better in three of their four fall tournaments.
Here’s a look at how the Titans performed, both as a team and individually, at the first four events of the 2025–26 season.
Runners-up in Season-Opening Tournament
The Titans once again started the season in Albuquerque, New Mexico, competing in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational. Last year, the team finished in fourth place with a combined 12-over-par 876. They improved upon that result this season, finishing in second place with a three-round score of 7-over-par 871, four strokes behind winner Sacramento State. They were in third place after the first round and 13 strokes behind Sacramento State, but were five strokes better in the second round and had the best third round score at 6-over 288.
Katharina Zeilinger, a senior from Neuhofen, Austria, was the Titan’s best golfer in New Mexico, finishing eighth in the individual standings with an even par 216. She had four birdies and just three bogeys over her last two rounds. Fellow senior and 2025 Big West Golfer of the Year, Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith, finished one shot behind Zeilinger in ninth place with a 1-over 217. She was tied for 19th after the first round, but improved her result with a 2-under 70 in round three.
Davina Xanh, a senior from England, finished tied for 11th. Zara Ali and Louise Dahl placed outside of the top 20 with scores of 8-over 224 and 10-over 226, respectively. Freshman Koa Seymour, in her first collegiate event, shot a 14-over 230 to finish tied for 53rd place.
Tied for Second in Colorado
In the second tournament of the season, the Titans once again improved upon a finish from last year, ending the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Colorado in a tie for second place with a 5-under 570. The tournament was cut short and limited to just two rounds due to inclement weather, but the Titans’ score was its lowest through 36 holes in program history. Last year, CSUF finished sixth out of 11 teams in the Ram Classic.
Xanh was the standout golfer for the Titans this weekend, finishing third in the individual standings at 5-under 139. She was five under par in the first round and shot an even par 72 in the second round. This was her 13th top-five finish, while her two-round score of 139 tied Martina Edberg for the program record through 36 holes.
Zermeno Smith finished tied for sixth with a 3-under 141, giving her consecutive top 10 results to start the season. Dahl and Zeilinger finished among the top 20 with scores of 1-over 145 and 2-over 146, respectively. Ali and Seymour finished outside of the top 70. The University of Colorado won the tournament, finishing six shots ahead of CSUF.
Third at the Marilynn Smith Invitational
In 2024–25, the Titans traveled to Lakewood, Washington. for their third tournament of the season and won the Pat Lesser-Harbottle Invitational with a three-round score of 12-under 852. This season, they participated in the Marilynn Smith Invitational hosted by the University of Kansas at the Lawrence Country Club. CSUF secured its third straight top 5 finish, coming in third place with a 27-over 879. Host Kansas won the event at just 3-over par, while the University of Missouri finished second at 17-over.
Zeilinger was the Titans’ top performer for the second time in three events, finishing fifth in the individual standings with a 4-over 217. She overcame a 76 in round one, closing out the tournament with a 1-under 70 and even par 71 to secure her first top 5 finish. Dahl recorded her third top 10 finish, tying for eighth place with a 7-over 220.
Zermeno Smith shot a 9-over 222 to finish tied for 15th, while Xanh and Ali tied for 17th and 48th, respectively.
Sixth in Missouri
While the Titans finished outside of the top five for the first time this season, their sixth-place result at The Ally in West Point, Missouri, was much better than the 12th place finish they had in their fourth tournament last season. They shot a combined 6-over 870 in the three-round tournament at Old Waverly Golf Club. Zermeno Smith and Xanh were the team’s top individual performers, finishing tied for 23rd with scores of 3-over 219. Xanh climbed 23 spots in the standings with an impressive 66 in the final round.
Dahl and Zeilinger, meanwhile, tied for 31st with scores of 5-over 221. Ali finished tied for 37th with a 6-over 222. SEC teams Florida, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State finished ahead of the Titans in the team standings.
The Titans begin the second half of their season with a match play against California Baptist University on January 27 before participating in the San Diego State Classic in February.