By Davis Ramage
Long Beach State women’s sophomore golfer Jasmine Leovao broke the LBSU individual scoring record by shooting an 8-under par 64 on Oct. 24 at The Clash at Boulder Creek.
The previous record was set by Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Famer Kay Hoey in 2008 when he shot a 65. She reflected on breaking the record, saying that she hopes to break it again as it was “really cool.”
Leovao finished the tournament in a tie for 10th place, shooting a 5-under overall. She was joined by freshman Andee Avery (-6) and her twin sister sophomore Janae Leovao (-7) in the top 10.
“We [her and Janae] practice together and it’s always good competition ’cause we’re on the same level. When she’s doing bad, she wants me to do good, and when I’m doing bad, I want her to do good,” Jasmine Leovao said.
Jasmine Leovao described herself and Janae Leovao as inseparable, saying that they have always been super competitive, yet supportive of one another.
Head coach Alyssa Waite said that when it came to recruiting the twins, it was “both of them or none of them.”
On the range the morning that she set the record, Jasmine Leovao said that she felt really bad, but this allowed her to set moderate expectations for herself and change her mindset.
“I didn’t feel like I needed to prove anything, so I just allowed myself to be relaxed and then I think I was able to think clearly,” Jasmine Leovao said.
During the round, Jasmine Leovao knew what she was on the brink of accomplishing. Despite the bad session on the range, she felt prepared and was not scared of tarnishing an opportunity at history.
A humble but confident Jasmine Leovao also stated that she knows she could have gone lower as well and said the record is “definitely beatable.”
Jasmine Leovao has a relationship with her coach that not a lot of players have, as they are from the same hometown of Oceanside, California. As the twins were a package deal, Waite said that as soon as they were of recruiting age, she got in contact with their high school coaches and swing coaches to discuss the possibility of them attending LBSU.
“It was a couple of calls and a couple of offers and then when I did make the move [from SDSU to LBSU], I then extended the offer when I came here and they luckily followed,” Waite said.
This decision has paid off for Waite as in just one complete year at The Beach, Jasmine Leovao earned Big West Freshman of the Year and 2023 First Team All-Big West. She was also just the fourth LBSU golfer to be invited to the NCAA postseason.
