MIKE CHIEN/Daily Bruin
Senior Alicia Um sizes up her shot in a
competition earlier this season.
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Reporter
[email protected]
In 1991, the UCLA women’s golf team won five tournaments
during the regular season and entered the NCAA championships as one
of the favorites to capture the team crown. This year, despite not
winning one tournament during the regular season, the Bruins tied
for first place with Pepperdine at the NCAA West Regionals last
week. They are again favored to seize the championships, which will
take place today through Friday in Seattle.
“Knowing that we tied for first in the West Regionals
proves that we can obviously compete at an extremely high
level,” head coach Carrie Leary said. “We’re more
confident this year, and performing under pressure shouldn’t
really be a problem.”
Last year, the Bruins finished tied for fourth place in the NCAA
West Regionals and ended up finishing fifth in the NCAA Finals
after coming within reach of a top-three finish. Leary attributes
this finish to various obstacles the Bruins faced.
“We played really well last year, but that particular
course was exceedingly difficult,” she said. “We have
more depth this year, with our No. 4 and 5 players shooting some
really low numbers sometimes and our players this year coming
together to contribute a team effort to UCLA’s
game.”
Weather conditions in Seattle, which will assuredly be windy and
cool, may affect certain teams’ play, but Leary is confident
that it will not play a huge factor in the Bruins’
performance.
“If anything, the weather will be positive for us,”
she said. “We play well in tough conditions like the Pac-10s
this year, as it was windy and cold. When everyone else was
struggling, we played well and moved up in the ranks.”
Unlike Arizona, whose top-five position has relied heavily on
the individual performance of No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, UCLA hasn’t
had any one particular leader throughout the season.
“Rather than having to rely on one player, we have enough
solid golf going on that when someone has a bad day, it
doesn’t destroy the squad,” Leary said. “If you
have one star player, and she doesn’t play well, where do you
go?
“To win, more than one of our players has to step up and
have four solid rounds of golf. It helps to have that superstar
power, but what we have is just going to have to come
together.”
As of late, the team’s cohesion has been overwhelming,
with various players contributing stealthily to UCLA’s
success. The Bruin lineup will include freshmen Yvonne Choe and
Charlotte Mayorkas, sophomores Melissa Martin and Gina Umeck, and
senior captain Alicia Um ““ the same five golfers who have
participated in the past four tournaments together.
“Our goal has been to be the best players that we can be,
and I always believed that we could be at the place we are
now,” Leary said.