Thursday, May 7, 1998
Bruins to challenge best in the west
WGOLF: Youthful team ready to meet old rivals
at tough NCAA Regionals
By David Arnold
Daily Bruin Contributor
Seeking to repeat last year’s NCAA Tournament appearance with a
newer, younger team, UCLA women’s golf head coach Jackie Steinman
takes to the links today.
At the Stanford golf course in Palo Alto, site of the NCAA West
Regionals, Steinman seeks to guide a five-player roster with three
freshmen back to the nationals by beating the nation’s best.
"We’ll be playing against the 18 best teams west of the
Mississippi," Steinman said, "and those are usually the best teams
in the country."
Steinman is coming off a promising showing at the Pac-10
championships, where the Bruins managed to finish fourth against
difficult competition – then third-ranked Arizona, second-ranked
Arizona State and USC.
"We have to be in the top 11, and we can do that, but it’ll be a
dog fight," Steinman said. Sizing up the competition, she notes
that there are "better teams this year for some reason."
But it’s a player’s game, and Steinman understands.
"I’ve done all I can do, it’s up to them entirely," she said,
conceding that the Bruins’ success depends on the players, not the
coach.
Is she relying on youth and inexperienced players?
"Oh, definitely."
And her team is young. Freshmen Alicia Um, Laura Moffat and
Leilani Bagby, along with sophomore Alexandra Gasser, make up the
team headlined by senior Amandine Vincent.
Um, the Bruins’ top finisher at the Pac-10 Championship, and
Moffat, the top finisher at the ASU Ping Tournament in April, are
the only players currently on the team – apart from Vincent – to
lead the Bruins in a tournament.
Sopie Sandolo had also done this but has since left the team to
pursue professional golf in Italy.
Vincent, who leads the team in stroke percentage with 74.9, has
had to shoulder the load of leadership throughout the season.
"I’ve done all I can do," Steinman said. "They’re ready to play,
they’ve just got to out and just do it."