Rolex All-Americans LaHa and Bartholomew Join UVA Program
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s golf coach Ria Scott announced today (Nov. 9) a two-player signing class of Rolex All-Americans to join the Cavalier program in the fall of 2023. The latest additions to the Virginia program are Kiera Bartholomew (Wake Forest, N.C.) and Jaclyn LaHa (Pleasanton, Calif.).
“Jaclyn and Kiera are dynamic players with the ability to go low,” Scott said. “They are both going to be impactful members of our team on our quest to win championships.”
LaHa is a first-team 2022 Rolex Junior All-American. She is ranked the No. 4 player in the Class of 2023 and is 10th overall in the latest Rolex American Junior Golf Association rankings.
She had five top-10 finishes at 2022 AJGA events capped by a win at the Albane Valenzuela Girls Invitational. LaHa was fifth at the Polo Golf Junior, the Mariah Stackhouse Girls Invitational, placed seventh at the Girls Junior PGA Championships and was ninth at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. She competed at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur where she placed 33rd.
She competed at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open after qualifying with a score of 7-under 137. She was the second-youngest player in the field who competed at The Olympic Club that year. Also in 2021, she was the runner-up at the PING Invitational and placed fifth in the Stackhouse Invitational.
LaHa attends Amador Valley High School. As a junior, she was the 2021 East Bay Athletics League, North Coast Section and NorCal Championship medalist and qualified for the CIF State Girls Championship where she placed eighth.
“Jaclyn has played in some of the strongest events in the country and has competed very successfully,” Scott said. “She has proven herself as a winner, as a student-athlete, is not afraid to face a challenge. She is long, dynamic, is a great ball striker. Jaclyn’s demeanor and level of calm as she competes will also add confidence to teammates around her.”
Bartholomew is a second team 2022 Rolex Junior All-American and a member of the 2022 Rolex Scholarship Honor Roll. She is ranked the No. 10 player in the Class of 2023 and No. 26 overall in the current Rolex AJGA Rankings.
This year she won the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour (PKBGT) Cape Fear Classic, was the runner-up at the Kathy Whitworth Junior Invitational and placed third at the AJGA Junior at 12 Oaks. She played in both the Girl’s Junior PGA Championships and the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.
During the 2021 season she was the PKBGT Tour Order of Merit Champion and medalist at the Beth Daniel Jr. Azalea, the Mid-Atlantic PGA Pure Silk Junior and was fourth at the North and South Junior Amateur. That year she played in the LPGA Monday qualifier for the Pure Silk Championship. In 2020 she was recognized as the North Carolina Junior player of the year.
At North Raleigh Christian Academy, she won the 2021 North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association state title and three consecutive (2020-2022) Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference titles. She helped her team to back-to-back state championships in 2020 and 2021.
“Kiera is an exceptional student-athlete with a relentless work ethic in all areas of her life,” Scott said. “Her golf game is built on a very solid foundation, and she is very intentional in how she trains and prepares for events. There is a joy to how she plays and practices and we look forward to seeing the many ways she will contribute to our program.”