UCLA hopes to continue strong play in Arizona
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 3, 1997 9:00 p.m.
Friday, April 4, 1997
W. GOLF:
Sophomore Sophie Sandolo has led team’s recent successesBy Chris
Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
With last year’s UCLA women’s golf team coming within four shots
of winning the NCAA championship and two All-Americans returning
for the 1996-97 campaign, everyone has had high expectations for
the current squad.
At the outset of this season, the Bruins did not live up to
these expectations. The team garnered two 12th-place finishes in
its first competitions.
But the team everyone expected showed up during winter
tournament play, when it finished in the top three in the past
three tournaments. The team will place that streak on the line this
weekend as the Bruins head into the Arizona State/Ping Invitational
tournament.
It is no coincidence that the team’s current success has
occurred during this part of the season, given the recent arrival
of Sophie Sandolo, who transferred from France to UCLA.
The sophomore transfer joined the team at the beginning of the
Winter Quarter. Sandolo is indeed one of the main reasons the team
has skyrocketed to 13th in the national rankings.
In her first three collegiate tournaments since transferring,
the sophomore sensation has finished fourth, third and fifth
overall respectively. These performances not only lead her
teammates, but most of the collegiate golfers in the country.
Sandolo’s play has ranked her fifth nationally in the standings
for the GolfStat Cup, an award given annually to the collegiate
player with the lowest scoring average.
Sandolo and the rest of the Bruins hope to continue their
current streak and attempt to once more live up to expectations as
they travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the Ping tournament today. With
another solid performance, the Bruins will be riding a lot of
momentum into the Pacific 10 Championships, which begin April
21.
