Teeing off: Bruins focus on skills, aiming for nationals

  COURTNEY STEWART Freshman Melissa
Martin, shown here at the Regional Challenge, holds the
No. 1 position in UCLA’s lineup.

By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Contributor

To call being in the same conference with three of the
nation’s top five teams difficult would be an
understatement.

But if you are the No. 18 UCLA women’s golf team, it is a
challenge you are eager to face. Individual focus and
competitiveness coupled with team devotion make for a powerful
front to lead the Bruins into a promising season.

Despite the fact that the women’s golf team has started
its winter season uncharacteristically slow with a 15th place
finish in last week’s Regional Challenge and an 11th place
finish in this week’s Arizona Wildcat Invitational, Head
Coach Carrie Leary is optimistic for the team.

“Coming into the second half of the season, we have
unfortunately struggled in our first two events,” she
said.

“No one is really playing up to their full potential and
we just need to get more on track. If we shoot what we’re
capable of shooting, we’re going to be better off than last
year.”

Last year the Bruins finished third in the Pac-10 under the
leadership of then-senior Amanda Moltke-Leth (’00), who
earned first team All-American and All-Pac-10 honors.

“This year we haven’t had one person in particular
step up to take initiative,” Leary said. “We have the
talent and the ability, and now we are just waiting for someone to
put their game together and lead us forward.”

This leader will most likely come from one of two places: fresh
freshman talent or experienced senior skill. Freshmen Melissa
Martin and Gina Umeck have provided the Bruins with hard play that
has proven vital thus far. Martin currently holds the No. 1
position in the lineup and was UCLA’s top finisher in the
Regional Challenge, tying for 37th place at 231.

Meanwhile Umeck, who is expected to make the greatest impact for
the team this season, provided solid play in the fall season.
Although she struggled in the beginning of the winter season with a
last-place finish for UCLA at the Regional Challenge, Umeck has
been key for the team with her play in every event.

“Gina was our leader after the fall season and she boasted
the lowest scoring average and the highest rank for the
team,” Leary said. “She has done everything we had
expected, and we expect her to continue doing that.”

On the senior front, co-captain Laura Moffat looks to continue
her success from last season when she captured her first collegiate
tournament in the Wahine Rainbow Fall Classic in Hawaii. Also,
senior co-captain Leilani Bagby’s combination of confidence
and hope for her team will undoubtedly aid the Bruins.

“We need to stay focused on little goals that lead up to
our main goal, the national championship,” Bagby said.
“Practices have been going well, and we just need to stay
focused and work harder.”

Although Leary looks toward an individual to carry the team, she
is also grateful for the team’s strong bond which sets them
apart from other college golf teams.

“They are all very different people, but they all get
along really well,” Leary said. “Golf is a very
individual sport, but the girls are very supportive of one another
and the team as a combined force is excellent.”

The closeness that exists on the team can be derived from its
competitiveness, which dominates each player’s
performance.

“They want to do well and they have great desire,”
Leary said. “As a group they work very hard and they want to
be good because they love UCLA.”

With No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 USC and No. 4 Stanford in the Pac-10
conference, desire and skill will be needed if the women hope to
fulfill Leary’s goal for the team.

“Realistically, I’d love to see us finish in the top
three (of the Pac-10) like last year,” she said. “Our
conference is so strong that if we finish in the top three, our
team will truly be one of top teams in the nation.”

There are two major tournaments that will make or break the
Bruins’ season: the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA West
Regionals.

The NCAA West Regionals is especially pivotal for the Bruins as
it paves the road to the national championship, which UCLA has not
qualified for since 1997, when it placed fifth overall.

“Last year we were playing really well going into that
event and we just didn’t qualify,” Leary said.
“That was the most heartbreaking thing that could have
happened. This year we need to play well consistently so we can
claim the spot in the tournament that is rightfully
ours.”

WOMEN’S GOLF SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info Original
graphic by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by CHRISTINE
TAN/Daily Bruin