Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, March 10
La Quinta, Calif.
Kansas State University
vs
Yale Invitational West
Wildcats Look to Carry Momentum to California
Mar 07, 2025 | Women's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off consecutive top-three finishes – including a victory its last time out at the MountainView Collegiate – the 30th-ranked Kansas State women's golf team will look to continue its hot streak this Monday and Tuesday in the inaugural Yale Invitational West held at the par-72, 6,176-yard Norman Course of PGA West in La Quinta, California.
K-State is riding the momentum of a convincing 10-shot victory this past week thanks to a dominating final nine holes as the Wildcats won the event at 4-over par 868. Kansas State also had the individual medalist in senior Carla Bernat, who fired an 11-under par 205 to tie for third in school history.
The Wildcats are playing at The Western Home of Golf for the first time ever and in the state of California for the first time since March 2019. The women's program does have the benefit of gaining course knowledge from the men's squad, which has played this layout each of the last two years at The Prestige.
"We are really looking forward to heading to Palm Springs for the Yale Invitational," head coach Stew Burke said. "It's a quick turnaround for our ladies, but we have had a good couple of days back in Manhattan to rest up and prepare. This is a brand new event, so to play in the inaugural year is really a cool experience. The golf course will be a tough test, but we have been fortunate to lean on and pick the brain of our men's Associate Head Coach, Cullen Carstens, to help us strategize and enable us to be best prepared for the practice round. This is another elite field, and we look forward to testing ourselves against some of the best teams in the country. The goal will remain the same, which is to put together three solid rounds and see where it adds up come Tuesday."
The field at PGA WEST features seven teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest National Collegiate Golf Rankings as the Wildcats will be joined in the 12-team field by No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 23 Kansas, No. 27 Oklahoma State, No. 32 California, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Princeton, San Diego State and Yale.
The Wildcats, who now have six top-five finishes this season to tie for fourth in school history, will utilize the same five members of the scoring lineup as this past week's win in Bernat, junior Noa van Beek, sophomore Alenka Navarro, freshman Nanami Nakashima and senior Sophie Bert. Additionally, sophomore Julia Ballester Barrio will compete as an individual.
Bernat's victory at the MountainView was her fourth as a Wildcat to tie for second in school history, while her 11 top-five finishes rank second and 12 top-10 showings are fifth. A native of Castellon, Spain, Bernat enters play ranked first in school history with a 70.52 career scoring average. She leads the team with a 70.00 average this season thanks to 18 of her 23 rounds coming in at even or under par, including 10 rounds in the 60s.
A product of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek recorded a season-best finish of a tie for seventh place at the MountainView Collegiate after a 54-hole score of 3-over par 219. It was the third time in her career she finished in the top 10 and first this season.
One of the driving forces behind K-State's final-round push to victory, Navarro turned in a score of 3-under par 69 to finish play in Arizona in a tie for 11th place at 5-over par 221. It was her third round in the 60s this season and first of the spring as she now ranks third on the team with a 73.25 scoring average this season.
Nakashima, who holds a 73.57 average this season, will look to rebound following a tie for 30th place at 10-over par 226. Bert enters the Yale Invitational with the second-best average on the team at 73.13, while Ballester Barrio finished in 23rd place at 8-over par 224 while playing as an individual this past week.
A shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. (PT) begins play on both days with 36 holes contested on Monday prior to Tuesday's final round. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
K-State is riding the momentum of a convincing 10-shot victory this past week thanks to a dominating final nine holes as the Wildcats won the event at 4-over par 868. Kansas State also had the individual medalist in senior Carla Bernat, who fired an 11-under par 205 to tie for third in school history.
The Wildcats are playing at The Western Home of Golf for the first time ever and in the state of California for the first time since March 2019. The women's program does have the benefit of gaining course knowledge from the men's squad, which has played this layout each of the last two years at The Prestige.
"We are really looking forward to heading to Palm Springs for the Yale Invitational," head coach Stew Burke said. "It's a quick turnaround for our ladies, but we have had a good couple of days back in Manhattan to rest up and prepare. This is a brand new event, so to play in the inaugural year is really a cool experience. The golf course will be a tough test, but we have been fortunate to lean on and pick the brain of our men's Associate Head Coach, Cullen Carstens, to help us strategize and enable us to be best prepared for the practice round. This is another elite field, and we look forward to testing ourselves against some of the best teams in the country. The goal will remain the same, which is to put together three solid rounds and see where it adds up come Tuesday."
The field at PGA WEST features seven teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest National Collegiate Golf Rankings as the Wildcats will be joined in the 12-team field by No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 23 Kansas, No. 27 Oklahoma State, No. 32 California, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Princeton, San Diego State and Yale.
The Wildcats, who now have six top-five finishes this season to tie for fourth in school history, will utilize the same five members of the scoring lineup as this past week's win in Bernat, junior Noa van Beek, sophomore Alenka Navarro, freshman Nanami Nakashima and senior Sophie Bert. Additionally, sophomore Julia Ballester Barrio will compete as an individual.
Bernat's victory at the MountainView was her fourth as a Wildcat to tie for second in school history, while her 11 top-five finishes rank second and 12 top-10 showings are fifth. A native of Castellon, Spain, Bernat enters play ranked first in school history with a 70.52 career scoring average. She leads the team with a 70.00 average this season thanks to 18 of her 23 rounds coming in at even or under par, including 10 rounds in the 60s.
A product of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek recorded a season-best finish of a tie for seventh place at the MountainView Collegiate after a 54-hole score of 3-over par 219. It was the third time in her career she finished in the top 10 and first this season.
One of the driving forces behind K-State's final-round push to victory, Navarro turned in a score of 3-under par 69 to finish play in Arizona in a tie for 11th place at 5-over par 221. It was her third round in the 60s this season and first of the spring as she now ranks third on the team with a 73.25 scoring average this season.
Nakashima, who holds a 73.57 average this season, will look to rebound following a tie for 30th place at 10-over par 226. Bert enters the Yale Invitational with the second-best average on the team at 73.13, while Ballester Barrio finished in 23rd place at 8-over par 224 while playing as an individual this past week.
A shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. (PT) begins play on both days with 36 holes contested on Monday prior to Tuesday's final round. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
K-State WGolf| Practicce Highlights
Friday, October 17
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational 2025 Recap
Thursday, September 11
K-State WGolf | Photoshoot BTS
Tuesday, September 09
K-State WGOLF | Senior Salute
Monday, June 02