Choi leads w. golf to Palo Alto

Choi leads w. golf to Palo Alto

By Yoni Tamler

The sixth-ranked UCLA women’s golf team travels to Palo Alto
this weekend to compete in the Stanford Invitational, following its
seventh-place finish last week in Tucson, Ariz.

The Bruins are fighting to regain an upper hand on the
competition ever since they fell into a slump that began in
November. After capturing its first two tournaments of the year and
placing a close second in the third, the team began a skid which
was capped off with its play in Tucson.

"It’s a matter of juggling school, golf and everything else,"
head coach Jackie Tobian-Steinman said. "Sometimes there isn’t
enough time for it all and it becomes a squeeze play. After a while
it gets to be a little too much, but the team is working hard right
now and I know we’ll come back."

UCLA enters the tournament at Stanford fully healthy for the
first time in weeks. Recovering from recent ills are Eunice Choi
and Jeong Min Park, who the Bruins will count on this weekend to
combat an impressive field which includes the top four ranked teams
in the country ­ Arizona State, San Jose State, Stanford and
Tulsa.

Jennifer Choi will also play a key role this weekend. Choi, the
lone senior on the team, led the Bruins in the individual
competition in each of the past two tournaments.

"Jennifer is really playing well," Tobian-Steinman said. "She’s
focused and she will probably end up All-American, along with
(Park) and possibly Kathy (Choi)."

As for the golf course itself, UCLA won’t know what to expect
since this will be its first look at the newly-replaced greens at
Stanford.

And despite their recent struggles, the Bruins are
confident.

"We’re going in there with a very good attitude because we’ve
worked hard on our short game for the last few days,"
Tobian-Steinman said. "We treat each tournament as a brand new
experience."