Tallahassee triumph
The Eastern Michigan University women’s golf team made a significant statement this past weekend in Tallahassee, Florida, proving they can compete with the nation’s elite. Competing at the Florida State Match Up from March 20-22, the now No. 28 ranked Eagles battled through three rounds at the challenging Seminole Legacy Golf Club to secure a second-place team finish.
The Eagles finished the tournament with a total score of 4-over 868, consistent throughout the weekend with rounds of 290, 290, and a tournament-best 288 on the final day. While the host and No. 18-ranked Florida State University captured the team title on their home turf with a 4-under 860, Eastern Michigan successfully fended off a crowded field of high-caliber programs. The Eagles finished eight strokes ahead of third-place University of Tulsa (+12) and comfortably ahead of the University of Illinois (+20) and No. 35 University of Virginia (+25), who rounded out the top five.
Jasmine Leovao leads the charge
Junior Jasmine Leovao continued her remarkable season, spearheading the Eagles’ effort with a third-place individual finish. Leovao carded a 3-under 213 (69-71-73), marking her fifth top-10 finish of the season. Notably, all five of those finishes have been within the top four, underscoring her consistency at the top of the leaderboard.
Leovao’s performance was historic for the program; her 213 total score tied for the ninth-best 54-hole score in EMU history. This tournament also marked the 12th time in her career that she has finished under par. Ranked No. 86 nationally heading into the event, Leovao proved her mettle by finishing ahead of several higher-ranked competitors, including No. 79 Elin Pudas Remier of Florida State and No. 42 Jaclyn LaHa of Virginia. Her opening round of 69 was particularly impressive, representing one of the 38 times in program history an Eagle has carded a round in the 60s.
Depth drives success
The Eagles’ success in Tallahassee was a collective effort, with four of the team's five starters finishing in the top 13 of the individual standings. Savannah de Bock provided a crucial secondary scoring punch, finishing in a tie for ninth place with an even-par 216 (71-71-74). This performance earned de Bock her fourth top-10 finish of the year and tied for the 17th-best 54-hole score in program history. Like Leovao, de Bock outperformed her national ranking (No. 130), finishing ahead of No. 95 Haruhi Nakatani of Florida State and No. 117 Natachanock Tunwannaruz of Alabama.
Janae Leovao also made a significant impact, particularly on the final day of competition. After opening with a pair of 75s, she surged up the leaderboard during Sunday’s final round, firing a 3-under 69 to finish in 13th place at 3-over 219. Baiyok Sukterm followed closely behind, securing a tie for 14th place with a 4-over 220 (75-73-72). Matilde Zocchi rounded out the EMU lineup, finishing in a tie for 63rd with a total of 241.
Rewriting the record books
The 2025-26 season is shaping up to be one of the most successful in the history of EMU women’s golf. The team’s 868-stroke total in Florida is now the fourth-lowest team score ever recorded by the program. Furthermore, the Eagles have now placed either first or second in five of the eight tournaments they have entered this year.
The team began the season with back-to-back victories at The Southern and the Leadership & Golf Invitational in September. Since then, they have added runner-up trophies from the Oklahoma Intercollegiate, the Alice & John Wallace Invitational, and now the Florida State Match Up. In total, the Eagles have finished in the top four in seven of their eight appearances this season, demonstrating a level of sustained excellence rarely seen in conference play.
West Coast swing ahead
There is little time for the Eagles to rest on their laurels as they prepare for the final stretch of the regular season. The team will travel to Millbrae, California, next week to compete in the Silicon Valley Showcase, hosted at the Green Hills Country Club on March 30-31. This will be the first of two California tournaments to close out the regular season schedule as the Eagles look to carry their momentum from Florida into the postseason.
With the Leovao sisters and Savannah de Bock playing at a national-caliber level, the Eagles appear poised to continue their record-breaking run as they head toward the final tournaments of the spring. Following the Silicon Valley Showcase, the Eagles will have only one more regular-season event before gearing up for championship season.
