PALM DESERT, Calif. -- The George Fox women's golf team is no stranger to the NCAA National Championships.

But usually, they have to travel a lot farther to get there.

For the first time in NCAA Division III history, the championships will be hosted on the West Coast. GFU and 32 other full teams will make the trip to Palm Desert, Calif. (three hours east of Los Angeles) to compete at Desert Willow Golf Resort. It's a far cry from a cross-country trip to Virginia in 2025 or Kentucky in 2024.

But no matter where the tournament has been, Fox has been successful in their past five seasons. The Bruins have earned a trophy and top-four finish in every season since 2021, including a national championship in 2023. In 2025, Fox's 1203 total score was tied for the best in program history; in 2024, their final round 287 was an NCAA Championship record.

And now, many new faces step up for Fox. With three All-Americans gone, the 2025-26 season was supposed to be a rebuilding one as most of the remaining Bruins had yet to see significant playing time on a national stage. Nevertheless, the Bruins won their 16th consecutive Northwest Conference championship and extended their streak of national appearances; Fox has made every NCAA Championship since 2010.

"We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to compete at the National Championship once again," Bruin head coach MaryJo McCloskey said, "This team has battled hard this season and continues to grow stronger through every challenge along the way. I'm incredibly proud of their resilience, belief, and commitment to continuing to improve."

Action will start at the Firecliff Course on Tuesday morning at 7:50 am as five Bruins will compete for George Fox in the 2026 edition of the Division III Championship: Samara D'Silva, Reyna Naranjo, Ashlyn Johnson, Abby Matelski, and Katelyn Lam.

Of the five, Lam and Naranjo are the two Bruins to have played in the NCAA Championship before — Lam playing as a freshman in 2025 and Naranjo as a freshman in 2024.

Lam, an All-NWC First Teamer as a freshman and Second Teamer as a sophomore, was the medalist at the NWC Fall Classic and finished fourth at the Spring Classic and ninth in the championship. In addition to her conference competition, the sophomore was named NWC Student-Athlete of the Week once following her performance at the National Preview at Desert Willow.

Naranjo, meanwhile, finished her season with a scoring average of 79.1, moving from the 300th-ranked player in the country (per Clippd Scoreboard) to the 200th, thanks to a fourth-place finish at the NWC Spring Classic and a sixth at the UC Santa Cruz Invite.

D'Silva leads the championship newcomers as the squad's All-NWC First Teamer. The sophomore was consistent in all three NWC tournaments, finishing in the top ten in each one; D'Silva placed ninth in the Fall Classic, fifth in the NWC Championship, and was the runner-up in the Spring Classic.

Matelski, the junior transfer from Pacific Lutheran, earned her first-ever conference honor thanks to solid finishes to close the year; following an 18th-place effort at the Fall Classic, Matelski placed fourth at the Spring Classic and sixth at the championship.

Rounding out the championship five is Ashlyn Johnson, who is no stranger to championship experiences. Johnson, who also competes for Team USA in the Deaflympics and traveled with the national team to Tokyo in November 2025, had a high finish of ninth in both the Fall Classic and Championship.

The teams will play at two courses over the first two rounds — for the Bruins, D'Silva will be the first to tee off, doing so at 7:50 am Pacific, on the Firecliff Course. D'Silva again tees off first for Fox on day two, again at 7:50 am, but will do so on the Mountain View Course. 

"We know this will be an amazing week against the best teams in the country," McCloskey said, "and we are looking forward to embracing the opportunity, enjoying the experience, and competing with confidence and joy."

Fox hopes to keep their trophy streak going on Tuesday, May 18. Links for live scoring are available on the GFU Athletics website. Live streaming will not be available, but photo galleries after the first and final days will be available on Smugmug following the day.