Kent State Looks to Punch Ticket to NCAA Championship at Chapel Hill

KENT, Ohio - The Kent State Dr. Paula Treckel women's golf team opens the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship Chapel Hill Regional on Monday at UNC Finley Golf Course, with the Golden Flashes entering as the No. 5 seed in a 12-team field and pursuing their 26th NCAA Regional appearance in program history.

Kent State arrives in Chapel Hill ranked No. 28 nationally by Clippd, coming off its 27th consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship at Firestone Country Club's Fazio Course on April 26-28. The Golden Flashes claimed five All-MAC honors at the championship, with junior Veronika Kedronová earning back-to-back MAC Golfer of the Year honors and a First Team selection, and senior Leon Takagi collecting her fourth career All-MAC nod with another First Team honor. Sophomores Isabella Goyette, Petra Babicová, and Gracie Larsen all earned Second Team All-MAC recognition, while head coach Casey VanDamme was named MAC Coach of the Year.

Two members of the Kent State starting lineup have already competed at the NCAA Championship as individuals - senior Leon Takagi qualified as a first-year in 2023, and junior Veronika Kedronová followed one year later in 2024, each earning an individual berth out of the NCAA Regional in their respective first-year seasons.

The Chapel Hill Regional field features seven other teams ranked in the top 50 nationally by Clippd, including top-seeded Texas (No. 5), host and No. 2 seed North Carolina (No. 12), Mississippi State (No. 17), Oklahoma State (No. 20), Virginia (No. 35), Michigan State (No. 39), and NC State (No. 44). Rounding out the field are High Point, Furman, Richmond, and Howard. The top five teams from each of the six regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 22-27.

Kent State Lineup

Veronika Kedronová
Leon Takagi
Isabella Goyette
Petra Babicová
Gracie Larsen
Aryn Matthews (Alternate)

Field (Clippd Team Rankings)

Texas — No. 5 (1 seed)
North Carolina — No. 12 (2 seed, Host)
Mississippi State — No. 17 (3 seed)
Oklahoma State — No. 20 (4 seed)
Kent State — No. 28 (5 seed)
Virginia — No. 35 (6 seed)
Michigan State — No. 39 (7 seed)
NC State — No. 44 (8 seed)
High Point (9 seed)
Furman (10 seed)
Richmond (11 seed)
Howard (12 seed)

Individual Competitors

Pinky Chaisilprungruang (UNC Charlotte)
Thanana Kotchasanmanee (Princeton)
Victoria Levy (UNC Wilmington)
Zoe Duval (Appalachian State)
Caroline Patterson (UNC Asheville)
Norah Seidl (Montana State)

Tournament Information

Event: 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship — Chapel Hill Regional
Host: University of North Carolina
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Course: UNC Finley Golf Course
Par/Yardage: 70 / 6,177 yards
Dates: May 11-13, 2026
Format: Stroke Play / 5-count-4 / 54 holes
Advancing: Top five teams + low individual not on advancing team advance to NCAA Championship
Pairing: Kent State plays with No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Virginia
Team Live Scoring: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/243257/scoring/team
Individual Live Scoring: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/243257/scoring/player
Live Broadcast: BabygrandeGolf.com (all three rounds)

Individual Notes

#1 Veronika Kedronová (Junior | Rožnov pod Radhoštem, Czech Republic)

Teeing off from Hole 10 — 8:44 a.m. with Ellie Bushnell (Oklahoma State) and Jaclyn LaHa (Virginia)

Kedronová enters Chapel Hill ranked No. 23 nationally by Clippd — the highest-ranked individual in the regional field outside top-seeded Texas and No. 3 seed Mississippi State, ahead of every player on host North Carolina, fourth-seeded Oklahoma State, and the rest of the field. The back-to-back MAC Golfer of the Year capped a four-win regular season with a wire-to-wire victory at the 2026 MAC Championship, posting rounds of 67-69-67 to win medalist honors by seven strokes. Her 71.38 season scoring average leads the team by more than two full strokes, and her nine rounds in the 60s are more than every other Kent State player combined. Earlier this spring, she became the third Kent State golfer ever to compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, following Michaela Finn and Pimnipa Panthong in 2019. As a freshman in 2024, she qualified for the NCAA Championship as an individual out of regional play. After a sixth-place finish at last year's Columbus Regional, Kedronová returns to NCAA Regional play with a chance to put a national stamp on a historic individual season.

#2 Leon Takagi (Senior | Tokyo, Japan)

Teeing off from Hole 10 — 8:33 a.m. with Marta Silchenko (Oklahoma State) and Remi Bacardi (Virginia)

Takagi makes her fourth and final NCAA Regional appearance with her most consistent season yet. As a first-year in 2023, she became the lone Kent State golfer to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club after a T-5 finish at the NCAA Athens Regional — an individual berth out of regional play that set the tone for what has become one of the program's most decorated careers. The 2024 MAC Golfer of the Year recorded five top-five finishes during the regular season, including a fourth-place showing at the Wolverine Invitational and a T-4 at the MAC Championship. Her 73.44 average across a team-leading 32 counting rounds reflects a senior year built on steady ball-striking and competitive depth, and her 11 rounds of par or better have her positioned to make a fourth career NCAA Regional her best yet. With her 2026 First Team All-MAC selection, Takagi joined a select group of Kent State golfers with four career All-MAC honors.

#3 Isabella Goyette (Sophomore | Medina, Ohio)

Teeing off from Hole 10 — 8:22 a.m. with Yu-Chu Chen (Oklahoma State) and Kennedy Swedick (Virginia)

Goyette earned Second Team All-MAC honors in 2026 after a steady sophomore campaign that included a solo fourth-place finish at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational on OSU's Scarlet Course — her best finish since taking home All-Tournament Team honors as a freshman. Her 73.94 average across 32 counting rounds matches her freshman year for consistency at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Goyette's experience and recent form make her one of the steadier presences in the Kent State traveling roster.

#4 Petra Babicová (Sophomore | Ocová, Slovakia)

Teeing off from Hole 10 — 8:11 a.m. with Summer Lee (Oklahoma State) and Mira Berglund (Virginia)

Babicová closed her sophomore season with the best two-event stretch of her career, posting a T-20 at the Buckeye Invitational followed by a T-9 at the MAC Championship — a finish anchored by a career-low 69 in Round 2 and a Second Team All-MAC selection. After serving as the team's alternate at the 2025 MAC Championship, Babicová moved into the No. 4 spot in the lineup throughout the spring and delivered her best golf when it mattered most. Her late-season trajectory gives the Flashes a peaking fourth-counting score heading into Chapel Hill.

#5 Gracie Larsen (Sophomore | Melbourne, Australia)

Teeing off from Hole 10 — 8:00 a.m. with Tarapath Panya (Oklahoma State) and Elsie MacCleery (Virginia)

Larsen authored one of the more compelling individual stories of the 2026 MAC Championship, finishing solo second at 208 (-2) with a career-low 67 in the final round — her second consecutive runner-up finish at the conference championship. The reigning MAC Freshman of the Year added Second Team All-MAC honors in 2026 to her growing résumé — a tied-for-second result as a freshman, a solo runner-up as a sophomore — and her clutch 67-shot final round at Firestone signals a player ready for postseason scoring conditions. Larsen returns to Chapel Hill with both championship experience and momentum.

Alternate: Aryn Matthews (Sophomore | Little Britain, Ontario, Canada)

Matthews returns as the team's traveling alternate after a sophomore season that included a 10th-place finish at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational and a 67 at the Wolverine Invitational — a four-under round that was the lowest by anyone in the Kent State lineup outside of Kedronová. A returning member of the 2025 MAC Championship runner-up group that finished one stroke off medalist honors, Matthews provides experienced depth in the Kent State traveling roster.