In her first four seasons as a head coach, Kathryn Hosch didn’t have much to celebrate. Her Cal State Fullerton women’s golf program was in the middle of the pack. The school’s top showings were a couple of fifth-place finishes at the Big West Championships.
Things improved in the fall of 2022 with the arrival of four freshmen players: Davina Xanh, Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith, Katharina Zeilinger and Kajsa Landstrom. The team finished fourth in the 2023 Big West Championships and placed third a year later. Xanh was named the conference’s Golfer of the Year as a sophomore.
While Landstrom gave up collegiate golf and returned to her native Denmark after her sophomore year, the remaining trio propelled Fullerton to its first-ever Big West Championship in 2025. The school appeared in the NCAA Division 1 Regionals and Championships — also firsts. Zermeno Smith was named Big West Golfer of the Year.
The Titans have stepped up again this season, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals. Xanh won her second Big West Golfer of the Year award, becoming the first Titan to earn the honor multiple times. She joined Zermeno Smith and Zeilinger to become the first trio to earn All-Big West First Team honors in the same season in Fullerton history.
The regionals will be held Monday through Wednesday at six sites across the country, with 72 teams and 36 individuals competing to advance to the national championship. The top five teams and top individual not on an advancing team from each regional will move on to the NCAA Championship on May 22-27 in Carlsbad.
Fullerton is competing at the Stanford Golf Course on the Stanford University campus and is seeded 7th in the 12-team regional.
The Titans, who are ranked 43rd in the nation, are the best team in school history: “We have the highest ranking in school history. Our scoring average is the lowest in school history, and it has come playing at a high level against strong opponents on tough courses,” said Hosch.
Read more on the Titans Athletics website.