PLAM BEACH GARDEN, Fla. - The Cal State San Marcos team earned a win in the quarterfinals of medal match play at the 2026 NCAA Women's Golf Championships, before falling in the semifinals later in the day.
 
Coming off their sixth-place finish in stroke play, the Cougars matched up with the No. 3 seed, St. Mary's (Texas), in the quarterfinals. CSUSM would lose at the top spot, but it would earn wins at No. 2, 4, and 5 to advance with a 3.5-1.5 victory.
 
Kiara Hernandez won at the No. 2 position, coming back to make up four strokes in just five holes. She completed her pairings wins by birdieing the par-3, 15th hole, while her opponent posted a bogey.
 
Abby Sickles won her pairing with a two-shot advantage on the front nine. She and her opponent, Taylor Wilczek, each went 3-over on the back nine, but Sickles was able to win by shooting only 2-over on the front nine.
 
Carmella Carlisi dominated at the No. 5 seed, going up as many as seven strokes before finishing 6 up. Carlisi registered birdies on two of the three par-3s. She widened her one-stroke lead on the 16th by shooting a par, while her opponent had a triple bogey.
 
Avery Foster earned a half-point as she tied with Sophia Perkins at the No. 3 spot.
 
With the win, the Cougars immediately moved to face the No. 2 seed, DBU.
 
Kiara Hernandez would again come through with a win in her pairing, and Avery Foster would get an eight-stroke win at No. 1, but the Cougars could not find one more match win and fell 3-2.
 
CSUSM's best chance for one more point was at the No. 4 spot, where Abby Sickles fell by just one stroke. She was down three but fought her way back to give the Cougars a chance with four holes remaining.
 
DBU would advance to the finals where it defeated Anderson (SC), 4-1, to win the 2026 NCAA Championship.