PREVIEW: Women’s Golf Opens NCAA Simpsonville Regional

Monday, May 11

Louisville Golf Club – Simpsonville, Ky.

University of Houston

NCAA Simpsonville Regional

Carolyn Macow Leatherwood Head Lydia Lasprilla and Emilia Väistö bump fists following Väistö's drive.

PREVIEW: Women’s Golf Opens NCAA Simpsonville Regional

5/9/2026 9:49:00 AM | Women's Golf

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

Three-day, 54-hole postseason event begins Monday morning at University of Louisville Golf Club

Maelynn Kim, NCAA Simpsonville Regional preview graphjic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Houston Women's Golf program begins play at the NCAA Simpsonville Regional when it tees off in the First Round at Louisville Golf Club on Monday morning.

Schools will play 18 holes each day beginning at 7 a.m. (CDT), Monday, with the Final Round teeing off Wednesday morning on the 6,384-yard, par-72 course.

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 will compete as the #5 seed at the NCAA Simpsonville Regional. That marks the second straight season in which Houston has received a #5 seed, tying for the highest entering the NCAA postseason in school history.

Houston earned its fourth straight NCAA Regional team appearance after finishing second at the Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate at Dallas Athletic Club on April 23-25. Junior Maelynn Kim, senior Natalie Saint Germain and senior Moa Svedenskiöld each finished among the Top-10 individual leaders to earn All-Tournament honors.

That Cougar trio also received All-Big 12 Conference honors earlier this week with Svedenskiöld earning First-Team recognition and Kim and Saint Germain receiving Second-Team recognition.

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 on Babygrande Golf beginning at 6:50 a.m. (CDT), Monday.

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

MEET the COUGARS
Under the leadership of Carolyn Macow Leatherwood Head Coach Lydia Lasprilla, the Cougars will be represented by Svedenskiöld, Kim, Saint Germain, senior Alexa Saldaña and sophomore Emilia Väistö. Freshman Sadie Adams will make her postseason debut as a substitute as needed.

This season, Svedenskiöld leads the Cougars with a 71.83 scoring average. The Halmstad, Sweden, native paces the team with five Top-10 finishes and finished among the Top-20 in each of her last seven events.

Saint Germain stands second on the squad with a 72.48 average and 15 rounds of par or lower. The Prague native captured the individual title at the Jim West Challenge in October, thanks to three straight rounds in the 60s.

Kim is a close third on the team with a 72.58 average and leads the team with 16 rounds of par or lower. The Katy, Texas, native was the only Cougar to shoot par or better in all three rounds at the Big 12 Championship and has earned three Top-Five individual finishes to lead the Cougars.

TEAM FIELD
The Cougars will compete in a 12-team field featuring eight of the nation's Top-50 programs.

The field includes Houston will face #6 (1 seed) Arkansas, #7 (2) Auburn, #18 (3) Iowa State, #19 (4) Mississippi, #37 (6) Virginia Tech, #40 (7) Kansas State, #45 (8) Indiana, (9) Charleston, (10) Xavier, (11) WKU and (12) Murray State.

Eila Galitsky (South Carolina), Barbara Car (Old Dominion), Maylis Lamoure (South Carolina), Maria Jose Barragan (BYU), Isabella Johnson (Middle Tennessee) and Sloand Biddle (Belmont) will compete as individual qualifiers.

TEE TIMES
For Monday's First Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Mississippi and Virginia Tech with a split-tee start beginning at 7 a.m. (CDT).

Väistö begins the day off No. 10 at 7 a.m. (CDT) with Saldaña (7:10 a.m. CDT)), Saint Germain (7:20 a.m. CDT), Kim (7:30 a.m. CDT) and Svedenskiöld (7:40 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 each will compete in the fourth NCAA Regional of their award-winning careers while Kim will make her third straight appearance in the NCAA postseason.

HOMECOMING for HEAD COACH
For Carolyn Macow Leatherwood Head Coach Lydia Lasprilla, the NCAA Simpsonville Regional will be a return to her native Kentucky.

Lasprilla grew up in Radcliff, Ky., located about 45 miles southwest of Louisville. She was a seven-time All-State selection at North Hardin High School and received the Miss Kentucky Golf Award a state-record five times.

With her selection in 2006, Lasprilla became the youngest honoree, receiving the award at only 12 years old. In 2012, she was recognized as the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year.

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
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarWGolf on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarWGolf or on the team's Instagram page at UHCougarWGolf.

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