Vakasiuola represents MCC at Women's Golf National Championship starting Sunday
Wednesday May 15, 2024 - 4:00 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
MCC Women's Golf will send Alyzzah Vakasiuola to the 2024 NJCAA DI Women's Golf Championship to represent the T-Birds as an individual.
Vakasiuola earned the nod to the event at the Southwest District Championship as she finished in 4th place just one stroke away from entering the tie for first. Vakasiuola has been the rock for the T-Birds this season, winning four events and finishing top five in each tournament that she competed in.
This will be the third tip Vakasiuola has made the the NJCAA Championship as she competed in 2021 where she finished 5th and in 2022 where she took home second place. Not only was the love for playing at MCC and head coach John Guerrero a factor in Vakasiuola's decision to come back for a third season, but her drive to capture the national championship that has eluded her for two seasons.
"I love playing for MCC and for coach [Guerrero] when he contacted me saying I could play one last year and get that championship. Obviously I hate losing so it was a huge motivator for me to come back one more time and get that championship," said Vakasiuola.
This year will be different for Vakasiuola as she will compete for the first time at the national championship solo, unfortunately her team did not earn an at-large bid to the tournament. Though she will have all the help and advice she will need from her head coach, Vakasiuola still wishes she would have her teammates with her at the event as she has had all season long.
"I'm gonna miss the team a lot…it will be nice to have coach Guerrero to myself but I've played in a lot of tournaments where it's just me so I'm going to be in that same mindset, but I definitely would have loved it if the girls were there too." said Vakasiuola.
In many things in life it's not about how you start but how you finish. In golf that may be true but getting off to a good start is critical if you hope to have a chance to take home the hardware. Vakasiuola knows the importance of quality play early in her outing and will focus on staying consistent and accurate early on.
"Going the past years I learned a lot about my game. This year going I'm going to focus a lot on those first two days playing, you can't win it on the first day but you definitely can lose it. It's four days so getting good scores and staying consistent is important," said Vakasiuola.
The tournament runs from May 19-24 in Melbourne, FL hosted at Eastern Florida State. Follow along on our website and social media platforms to stay up to date with Alyzzah's progress.
