Two-time State Champion Jessie Lin Signs with Washington State

SANTA CLARITA - College of the Canyons sophomore Jessie Lin has signed with Washington State University, becoming the second member of the Lady Cougars' back-to-back state championship team to move on to a four-year women's golf program.

Washington State University is an NCAA Division I program located in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars compete in the PAC-12 conference.

Lin played a key role in the program's two CCCAA state title runs in 2018 and 2019, which included a span of 25 straight tournament victories — and 19 consecutive Western State Conference (WSC) wins — dating back to the start of 2018 season.

COC's women's golf team holds the distinction of being the first athletic program in the college's 50-year history to win back-to-back state championships.

Lin, who hails from Taiwan, contributed mightily during her tenure at Canyons.

In 2019, the sophomore was named to the CCCAA All-State Team after finishing second in the individual standings at the state championship tournament. Lin's two-day score of 144 actually tied with teammate Haruka Koda, but the individual state title was eventually awarded to Koda after a card-off. Koda, who recently signed with California State University, Fullerton, recorded a day one score of 70, which was a shot better than Lin's mark of 71.

Lin also earned All-WSC honors after a season in which she finished as the event medalist in two conference tournaments. She finished in second place at seven events during the season, including the state championship tourney.

Her third-place result at the 2019 CCCAA SoCal Regional Championships came a year after Lin won that same event while playing as a freshman. Lin was also an All-WSC selection in 2018 before finishing seventh overall at that year's state championship event.

Canyons finished the 2019 season a perfect 94-0 through 13 events, having also won the CCCAA Southern California Regional Championship (the program's fourth overall) and the Western State Conference title (the program's 10th overall).

COC Standout Golfer Haruka Koda Heading to Fullerton

SANTA CLARITA - College of the Canyons standout golfer Haruka Koda will take her game to California State University, Fullerton after signing a National Letter of Intent with the Titans' women's golf program.

Koda, who is from Miyoshi City, Japan, put together a stellar two-year run with Cougars' women's golf program, leading Canyons to back-to-back California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) state championships in 2018 and 2019.

By doing so, the women's golf team earned the distinction of being the first COC athletic program to win back-to-back state championships in the college's 50-year history. 

As a sophomore in 2019, Koda also claimed the CCCAA individual state championship becoming just the third golfer in women's golf program history to do so.

She also won the CCCAA individual SoCal regional championship and was named the Western State Conference (WSC) Player of the Year after earning medalist honors in six conference events including the two-day WSC Finals tourney.

As a team, the Lady Cougars also claimed the program's fourth CCCAA Southern California Regional Championship, as well as the 10th Western State Conference (WSC) title.

Canyons finished the 2019 season a perfect 94-0 through 13 events, and won 25 straight tournaments dating back to the start of 2018 season. Included in that number is 19 straight conference events.

During her freshman campaign in 2018 Koda was the individual state runner-up, finishing one stroke off the championship mark. She also earned WSC Player of the Year Honors and finished runner-up, behind teammate Jessie Lin, for the individual CCCAA SoCal regional title.

CSU Fullerton is an NCAA Division I program competing in the Big West Conference. 

(Jessie Munoz, College of the Canyons Athletics)