How a freshman standout is helping UCLA push forward after losing two All-Americans midseason

USA Today

26-02-2025

How a freshman standout is helping UCLA push forward after losing two All-Americans midseason
When the UCLA women's golf team began its 2024-25 season, the Bruins returned a pair of All-Americans to a roster that added one of the highest-ranked recruits in the country. A return to the national championship match, where UCLA found itself last spring at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, was not out of the question.
Heading into the Bruins' co-host tournament alongside Pepperdine at Valencia Country Club, what the rest of the season held for them was questionable. Both All-Americans were no longer on the team, instead forgoing the remainder of their senior years to chase professional opportunities. The standout freshman had yet to break out, even failing to qualify for UCLA's first spring tournament at Palos Verdes. UCLA coach Alicia Um Holmes was trying to keep it together for her team.
"We just buckled down and came together," she said. "Really, it was almost like a blank slate, a restart with this group."
UCLA, ranked 25th in the NCAA golf rankings, ran away from the field to win the Bruin Wave Intercollegiate, besting second-place Baylor by 22 shots. Francesca Fiorellini, the highly-touted freshman from Italy, had a record performance, shooting 9-under 207 for her first collegiate win. She bested teammate Tiffany Le, who played as an individual, by 10 shots. Her 9-under performance is the lowest score in tournament history, topping former Pepperdine golfer Danielle Kang's 8-under mark from 2010.
"(The team) got serious at practice and workouts," Um Holmes said. "I think they just used it as motivation to come out here and make some changes that they've been working on and commit to them."
Those changes start with Fiorellini, whose college tenure got off to a rocky start. Facing some pressures from back home to turn pro instead of going to college, she came to UCLA wanting to prove she made the right decision, but it has been anything but easy for the No. 22 golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She didn't have a top-10 in four fall starts. Doubt started to creep in.
She went home for winter break, and upon returning tied for fifth in qualifying ahead of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge. A scorecard playoff was used to determine the fifth spot, and Fiorellini was out of the lineup.
Then during a practice round at Valencia a couple weeks before the Bruin Wave Invitational, Fiorellini shot 10 over.
She only played 12 holes.
"She was pretty down on her game, Um Holmes said, "and for her to kind of turn it around and be mentally strong and just start to commit to some of the swing thoughts that she had...
"When I watched her, we would do testing, she would hit like lasers on the target, and then we would go out to the course, and because she had this extreme pressure, she wasn't able to swing the way she wanted. So she kind of let it go. Just trusted her abilities. Decided to go after the ball a little bit more. And it was great."
Fiorellini was the only player to finish under par, and perhaps this week can be a springboard for her and push her to become the next face of UCLA golf, where there's a big hole to fill.
After the fall season, Zoe Campos decided to leave school to turn pro so she could play in the LPGA's Final Qualifying over the winter. Fellow senior Caroline Canales returned to school and placed T-23 at Palos Verdes in the spring opener, after that tournament decided to leave the team to focus on her professional career. In the blink of an eye, two stalwarts of UCLA's roster, players who contributed to their national runner-up finish less than a year ago, were done.
With Fiorellini's victory Tuesday, she has shown she's capable of leading the Bruins for the rest of the year.
"I've heard people surrounding us kind of doubting what we can do, and I'm not saying that we're going to do anything similar to last year," Um Holmes said. "Last year was special, but it just gives it gives our squad a little bit more confidence moving forward."
With Fiorellini leading the way and the team's renewed mindset, the Bruins have plenty of confidence moving forward.