Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Looking Back: Women's Golf's Cinderella Run at the 2026 NCAA Championships
5/29/2026 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Historic. Magical. A Cinderella Story.
It is rare when the entirety of an athletic season can be summed up in so few words. For the Eastern Michigan Unviersity women's golf team, those words are fitting for their 2025-26 campaign that saw the Eagles enter the season with momentum and quickly established themselves as one of the nation's top programs.
Eastern opened the campaign with consecutive tournament championships at The Southern and the Leadership & Golf Invitational before adding a third team title at the Silicon Valley Showcase in the spring. The three victories marked the program's most tournament wins in a season since 2011-12 and represented another major step in the program's rapid ascent under Head Coach Josh Brewer. Individual success accompanied the team's achievements.
Janae Leovao captured medalist honors at both The Southern and the Leadership & Golf Invitational, while Baiyok Sukterm claimed medalist honors at the Silicon Valley Showcase. The accomplishments marked the first time since 2007-08 that Eastern golfers earned three individual tournament titles in a single season.
The Eagles continued their rise throughout the spring and reached No. 19 in the national rankings before finishing second at the Mid-American Conference Championships, their best conference finish since 2015. That success positioned Eastern for another historic milestone.
The Eagles earned the program's first NCAA Regional selection and traveled to Tallahassee as the No. 5 seed. Eastern rose to the occasion, finishing fourth and securing the first NCAA Championship berth in school history. The story only grew more remarkable from there.
Competing against the nation's best at Omni La Costa Resort in California, Eastern advanced through stroke play and made the 15-team cut after three rounds. The Eagles then produced the lowest round of the day during the fourth round, firing a 4-under-par 284 to move into the top eight and qualify for match play.
Eastern stunned fourth-ranked Texas in the quarterfinals before eventually falling to eventual national champion Stanford in the semifinals.
When the final putt dropped, Eastern Michigan stood tied for third nationally.
The accomplishment completed a remarkable two-year climb of 223 spots in the national rankings and established the Eagles as one of the premier programs in collegiate golf.
The historic season also brought unprecedented national recognition.
Brewer was named Golfweek Women's National Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach in program history to earn a national coaching honor. Janae Leovao became the first All-American in program history after earning Golfweek Third Team All-America recognition and Women's Golf Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America honors. Leovao finished her career ranked No. 46 nationally while Sukterm, Savannah de Bock, and Jasmine Leovao also concluded the season among the nation's top 100 golfers.
It is rare when the entirety of an athletic season can be summed up in so few words. For the Eastern Michigan Unviersity women's golf team, those words are fitting for their 2025-26 campaign that saw the Eagles enter the season with momentum and quickly established themselves as one of the nation's top programs.
Eastern opened the campaign with consecutive tournament championships at The Southern and the Leadership & Golf Invitational before adding a third team title at the Silicon Valley Showcase in the spring. The three victories marked the program's most tournament wins in a season since 2011-12 and represented another major step in the program's rapid ascent under Head Coach Josh Brewer. Individual success accompanied the team's achievements.
Janae Leovao captured medalist honors at both The Southern and the Leadership & Golf Invitational, while Baiyok Sukterm claimed medalist honors at the Silicon Valley Showcase. The accomplishments marked the first time since 2007-08 that Eastern golfers earned three individual tournament titles in a single season.
The Eagles continued their rise throughout the spring and reached No. 19 in the national rankings before finishing second at the Mid-American Conference Championships, their best conference finish since 2015. That success positioned Eastern for another historic milestone.
The Eagles earned the program's first NCAA Regional selection and traveled to Tallahassee as the No. 5 seed. Eastern rose to the occasion, finishing fourth and securing the first NCAA Championship berth in school history. The story only grew more remarkable from there.
Competing against the nation's best at Omni La Costa Resort in California, Eastern advanced through stroke play and made the 15-team cut after three rounds. The Eagles then produced the lowest round of the day during the fourth round, firing a 4-under-par 284 to move into the top eight and qualify for match play.
Eastern stunned fourth-ranked Texas in the quarterfinals before eventually falling to eventual national champion Stanford in the semifinals.
When the final putt dropped, Eastern Michigan stood tied for third nationally.
The accomplishment completed a remarkable two-year climb of 223 spots in the national rankings and established the Eagles as one of the premier programs in collegiate golf.
The historic season also brought unprecedented national recognition.
Brewer was named Golfweek Women's National Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach in program history to earn a national coaching honor. Janae Leovao became the first All-American in program history after earning Golfweek Third Team All-America recognition and Women's Golf Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America honors. Leovao finished her career ranked No. 46 nationally while Sukterm, Savannah de Bock, and Jasmine Leovao also concluded the season among the nation's top 100 golfers.
Multimedia Highlights
Videos from Golf Channel
» EMU coach on historic season: ‘They just truly believe we could do something special’
» EMU defeats Texas, advances to NCAA semis: ‘Keep breaking hearts and making history’
» Eastern Michigan’s Janae Leovao defeats national champ O’Keefe
» Cinderella from Ypsilanti: Eagles advance in NCAA
» The dream continues: Eastern Michigan shocks Texas to advance to NCAA semifinals in women’s golf
» ‘Nobody wants to see us’: Eastern Michigan punches historic ticket to NCAA women’s quarterfinals
Eastern Michigan Highlight Videos
» Onto NCAA Match Play Semifinals! EMU Takes Down No. 4 Texas
» Eastern Michigan Women's Golf Advnaces to NCAA Match Play
» Josh Brewer's Golf Channel Interiverw at the NCAA Championships - May 25
» Eastern Michigan Day 3 Highlights at the NCAA Championships
» Women's Golf Highlights: Day 1 at the NCAA Championships
» Josh Brewer on Golf Central live on Golf Channel Tuesday, May 19, 2026 for NCAA Preview
Eastern Michigan Photo Galleries
» Rounds 1 & 3 (Walt Middleton)
» Round 2 (EMU Athletics)
» Round 4 (EMU Athletics)
» Match Play vs. Texas (EMU Athletics)
» Match Play vs. Stanford (EMU Athletics)
» NCAA Provided Scenic and Award Photos (NCAA)
News Articles from Around the Web
» Stanford, USC to vie for NCAA women's golf title ~ ESPN
» Eastern Michigan stuns Texas to extend run in NCAA Women’s golf ~ ESPN
» Eastern Michigan’s run to women’s golf Final Four is one of the great sports stories of the year ~ OutKick
» Underdog Eastern Michigan’s Final Eight run is biggest feel-good story in NCAA women’s golf ~ Golf Digest
» NCAA Women’s Golf Championship highlights: Eastern Michigan continues Cinderella run ~ Golfweek
» Why Eastern Michigan’s NCAA Women’s Golf semifinal run should be celebrated ~ Golfweek
» Stanford, USC women have sights set on epic NCAA showdown, and Eastern Michigan counts it blessing after magical run ~ Golf Digest
» Eastern Michigan’s Magical NCAA Tournament Run Ends Against Stanford ~ Forbes
» ‘It was magical’: Eastern Michigan’s run ends in NCAA Tournament semifinals ~ MLive
» Historic run for Eastern Michigan golf ended by Stanford in NCAA semis ~ The Detroit News
» Briggs: Don't blame Eastern Michigan women's golf for playing the game in magical run to NCAA Final Four ~ Toledo Blade
» Historic run for Eastern Michigan golf ended by Stanford in NCAA semis ~ The Detroit News
» How Eastern Michigan Women's Golf went from 226th to NCAA title contender ~ Click on Detroit / WDIV 4
Social Media Highlights
» George 'The Iceman' Gervin congratulates the program on its incredible run ~ GameAbove
» Josh Brewer interview with Fairway to Green following the NCAA semifinals ~ FairwayToGreen
» The Eagles Take Down Texas! ~ MAC
» Josh Brewer sits down with Babygrande ~ Babygrande
» Savannah de Bock and Janae Leovao sit down with Babygrande Babygrande ~ Babygrande
» Josh Brewer with The Back of the Range ~ TheBackoftheRange
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