Led by new head coach Julia Goodson, the Vandals placed eighth at the Women’s Golf Yellowstone Intercollegiate in Bozeman, Montana over the past two days.
The top scorer for the team was freshman Ella Kozak who started off strong with a good first round. Kozak went three under, which tied for the fourth-best first round performance. Even though performance dropped off during the second and third round, she remained the Vandals’ best player out on the grass.
After all three rounds, she ended with a score of three over, which tied her for 15th out of everyone. Kozak is a promising young golf player who is someone to keep watch of this year.
The other Vandal golfer rankings were Zoe Newell, who went 11 over and tied for 32nd; Laura Caamano, who went 11 over and also tied for 32nd place; Inkjung Charnchanayothin, who went 12 over and tied for 35th; and Kaylin Johnson who went 16 over and placed 47th.
This year’s opener was not as promising as last year’s. Last year, the Vandals opened with a fifth-place finish at the Kelsey Chugg Invitational.
Goodson comes from Washington State University where she spent the last two years as the assistant coach, helping the Cougars place fifth at the West Coast Conference Championship last spring.
Goodson played four years of Division 1 golf, three of which were at Kent State University until she transferred to East Tennessee State University for her senior year. When Goodson was hired on Aug. 18, 2025, she was excited for the opportunity to coach the Vandals.
“I look forward to representing a university that values student-athlete experience and prioritizes excellence both in the classroom and on the golf course,” Goodson said in a press release. “I can’t wait to be a part of the strong Vandal community and I’m eager to lead this program towards even more success. Go Vandals!”
The Vandals have a must-watch event coming up: the Kalispel Invitational, where they will be playing in Spokane. The last time the Vandals played in Spokane, they placed first with three golfers in the top five of participants and Emma Kang placing first. The Vandals will head to Spokane from Sept. 22-23, their next chance to prove themselves on the course.
Taylan Hallum can be reached at [email protected].