COSTA MESA -- Vanguard golf has been in action since the fall semester began and has made a strong return in the spring semester.  The long journey is now careening towards its conclusion, as VU has one final tune-up on both sides before the Pacific West Conference Championships April 23-25.  Here is a look at the Vanguard golf teams as they prepare to hit the home stretch.

Head Coach Jeff Anderson is in his seventh season in charge, and with the help of Claire Shubin and Dr. Jane Carr, he has the staff to build contenders at the team and individual levels.  And the teams have been doing better overall since competitions resumed in 2026.
 
"We came in after that off month, and I think the players definitely put in the time. I know the scores haven't really shown that, but I feel like we're getting better each and every event," said Head Coach Jeff Anderson. "You know, we talk about it all the time in practice. It's 1% better every day, and I feel like we're not only doing 1%, we're doing a lot more. So again, we're really excited to finish out the spring. We've got some good tournaments coming up on both sides and we're really hungry to see where we stand in the PacWest."
 
The men's team had its first team victory in program history when the Lions won the TMU Danish Classic, sweeping the PacWest weekly awards the following Monday.   The lineup averaged 290.7 shots per round in the fall, though that rate currently sits at 297.8 this spring.  Some of that has been due to the absence of Fisher Ransom, who had an injury heading into the new calendar year and just got back into the lineup last week at the CSUEB Tim Tierney Invite.  The winner of the TMU event, who was tied for first at the Western Washington Fall Invite, had a strong fall semester as he topped VU with a 70.5 average over 11 rounds.  He has twice hit his low of 67 for a single round and had a 68 for his first round back.  Behind him was Alexander Elia, who concluded the fall with a 72.3 average and joined Ransom with a pair of rounds under 70 at the TMU tournament, including his season and career low of 68.  He holds a 74.6 average over the first eight rounds of the spring and after an All-Conference finish last year, is ready to land there again in 2026.
 
Kyle Koski had a solid fall, with a 74.5 average over nine rounds and a season and career low of 67.  He has maintained his form into the spring at 75.3 and has played in all eight rounds in this semester.  Tyler Williams has been improving over the campaign, as he concluded the fall with a 75.3 but has not gone over 80 shots this spring.  He owns a 73.5 score over the eight rounds of this semester and just netted his season-best score of 67 the other week.  Paul Howard and Charles Gulbe have been more active this spring than fall, with Gulbe featuring in all eight rounds and Howard playing in five.  Gulbe averaged a 78.3 after one event in the fall, and Howard had a pair of 77s in his lone fall appearance.  Since then, Gulbe gathered his season and career-best score of 71 at the CSUEB tournament and is averaging 77.6 in 2026, while Howard had a season-best score of 76 at the RJGA Visit Stockton event and has a 78.4 over the first two events this spring.
 
The duo of Chris Dineros and Hayes Hunton has yet to feature for the Blue and Gold, who also bid a fond farewell to Rex Robinette at the end of the fall semester.  Graduating early, Robinette concluded his career with a 75.4 average over 11 rounds and had a best round of 70 at the St. Martin's Bishop Invite.  He will be missed for his consistent play and for his leadership, as the captain over the past season-plus returned home to Nebraska in December.
 
The men have the Dominican Spring Invite next at the Sonoma Golf Course over April 6-7 before heading to the PacWest Championships.  The conference is being led by Hawaii Hilo in the rankings on Scoreboard, powered by Clippd, with the Vulcans in 32nd in Division II.  DUC follows in 95th, with Hawaii Pacific (102nd) and Vanguard (104th) coming as the next two in the league.
 
On the women's side, Theresa Shaw has been the headliner, as she leads the Blue and Gold in scoring average.  With a 75.7 in the fall and a 74.8 so far this spring, she is on track for a career year after averaging 76 strokes last year in the final season of Biola's program.  She captured a win on debut, with a season-best round of 69 on day one to capture the RJGA Shootout crown, her first individual collegiate win.  She also had a third-place finish at the Wasatch Invite, which was the next event, and has not finished outside the top 35 in any event.  She placed ninth at the PacWest Championships last year and is hunting for a podium placement.
 
Behind her, the Lions have Kaitlin Anderson, who ended the fall with an 84.1 scoring average and has improved over the eight rounds this spring.  She set her season-bests at the CSULA Spring Kickoff, with a single round of 76 and a final placement in 40th (tied).  Shaw, Anderson, and Brooke Carpenter are the three VU players to have featured in every round this school year, with Carpenter netting an 87.9 stroke average over the fall.  She had a season-best round of 79 at the CSUEB Fall Invite, placing 62nd, and has an average of 83.7.  Rylee Salas-Hubbard played four rounds in the fall for an average of 83, but has featured in each event this spring, posting an average of 87.2.  Her best round was a 79 at the RJGA Shootout, and her best qualification was tied for 53rd at the Wasatch Invite. 
 
Grace Kiger had two rounds in the 90s during the fall but has an average of 86.6 over six rounds this spring.  Her two lowest scores have been 84s, with a 69th placement at the CSULA event being her best this year.  Arabella Mishek has four rounds in the book, two in each semester, with her best single round being an 89 at the CSUEB Tim Tierney (women's) tournament.
 
The women averaged 330 shots over the fall but have chipped that down to 323.5 over the eight rounds of the second semester.  The squad plays at the RJGA Spring Shootout at the Palm Valley Country Club April 3-4 before it joins all the teams at the PacWest Championships in North Las Vegas.  The women would need to overcome Point Loma, amongst others, to win the title, with PLNU set at #29 in the rankings. 
 
Both sides will have to navigate the Aliante Golf Course, which was the host for the PacWest Tournament last school year.  A par-72, the venue can be over 7,000 yards in length, but is very attackable for golfers and does not have a ton of water or sand features.  And Coach Anderson knows both squads can take advantage of this favorable layout.
 
"Very good, very scorable.  I think it's one of those golf courses where you have to be smart off the tee and kind of not be so aggressive off the tee, but if you put yourself in a position to, you know, have scoring clubs in hand, you can definitely score well. And we're familiar with it, so I think that's really exciting. I think it's funny because last year, we were driving home from the tournament. And the guys were already hungry to get back to that golf course because they felt like they left so much out there. On the women's side, you know, Teresa played there last year for Biola, obviously, we know how well they did, so she's excited to get back. Brook is familiar with it, but again, we're excited to play on the courses, get at it. It's a desert layout, wide open. There'll be a lot of birdies."
 
Scores are coming down, progress is being made, and all of it happening at the right time.  Make sure to follow the final two events for Vanguard this spring and book your travel to be at the PacWest Championships in April to root on both teams.