UCLA faces Arizona, others at Palos Verdes tournament
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 11, 2001 9:00 p.m.
Women’s Golf Regional
Challenge Today-Wednesday, all day Palos Verdes
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s golf team follows a simple maxim which
Associate Athletic Director Glenn Toth constantly reminds them:
“You’re in it to win it.”
The No. 16 Bruins hope that this maxim, coupled with previous
success, strong mentality, and hard practice, will aid them in the
first tournament of their winter season.
Coming off two first place finishes in the SDSU Fall Classic and
the Rainbow Wahine Fall Classic earlier this fall, the Bruins look
to continue their successful season this week at the Regional
Challenge Tournament in Palos Verdes, which takes place today
through Wednesday.
A strong tournament all around, the Bruins face especially tough
competition from No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 USC, and No. 6 Stanford.
Strong individual performances by number No. 1 ranked Lorena
Ochoa of Arizona and No. 2 Candie Kung of USC can also be expected,
but UCLA head coach Carrie Leary is confident in her team’s
ability.
“We’ve been having a lot of team discussions about
believing in ourselves and believing that we can win,” she
said. “I believe we are emotionally, physically, and mentally
prepared for a great tournament.”
Although the starting lineup will consist of solid young talent
from freshmen Melissa Martin and Gina Umeck, and sophomore Saki
Uechi, the Bruins will look toward the skills of seniors Leilani
Bagby and especially Laura Moffat for a strong performance.
“Laura has been playing really well,” Leary said,
adding that her individual second place finish at the Rainbow
Wahine Fall Classic helped the Bruins capture their second
consecutive first place finish.
For the past month the Bruins have been practicing hard in
preparation for a difficult schedule. Playing matches three days a
week, practicing two days a week, and working individually on the
weekend provide for a well-prepared team.
Uechi feels a more experienced team will prove key this
tournament and throughout the season.
“When we started practicing for our winter season we were
a little rusty, but we’ve been practicing a lot and
it’s been paying off,” she said. “I feel
we’re really ready for the tournament.”
