Slow finish leaves UCLA in 10th place

  COURTNEY STEWART Freshman Gina Umeck
watches her ball in a tournament earlier this season. 1.
USC 889 2. Arizona State 893 3. Texas Christian 895 4.
Arizona, Stanford 896 10. UCLA 913

By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA women’s golf team’s unusual but reoccurring
slow start to tournaments ended last Friday when the Bruins emerged
as the No. 3 team after the opening round of the Ping/ASU
Invitational held in Tempe, Ariz. This time, however, the fast
start was coupled with a slow closing, as they finished the
tournament in 10th place with a team total of 913 on Sunday.

Underclassmen paved the way for UCLA with strong performances
from freshman Melissa Martin, who tied for 28th place with a score
of 226, 10-over-par to lead UCLA. Sophomore Saki Uechi tied for
35th place at 227.

Junior Alicia Um tied for 44th at 230, senior Laura Moffat tied
for 47th at 231, and freshman Gina Umeck tied for 54th at 234 to
complete UCLA’s team scoring.

No. 3 USC captured the title with an impressive 889, just four
shots less than second place Arizona State. Texas Christian
University rounded out the top three with a score of 895 while No.
2 Arizona and No. 4 Stanford tied for fourth place with a 54-hole
total of 896.

Individual competition was tight as the top three golfers
finished within one shot of each other. Stanford’s Stephanie
Keever took first place in the tournament with a three-round score
of 216, New Mexico State’s Sasha Medina took second with 217,
and No. 1 Lorena Ochoa of Arizona captured third place with a final
score of 218.

First-round action provided UCLA with hope for a top-five finish
in the fifteen-team tournament, a goal which coach Carrie Leary
stated would be “a major boost of confidence for us before
Pac-10’s.”

The Bruins finished the opening round with a team total of 302
and trailed first-round leader TCU by three shots.

Uechi also looked to be in the running to claim her first
individual title as she was in a five-way tie for third. With her
score at one-over-par at 73, Uechi was just two shots behind
then-leaders Ochoa and Molly Cooper of Arizona State.

Optimism quickly turned into regret for missed opportunity as
UCLA entered second-round competition Saturday and posted a 310 for
a two-round total of 612.

Arizona stepped up to take over the lead with an impressive
second-round score of 293, while Arizona State quietly trailed in
second place with a second-round score of 298. Uechi fell back to
23rd place with a second-round score of 151, tied with Martin.

The final round of the tournament left the Bruins unfulfilled as
they posted a third-round score of 301, placing them 10th.
USC’s incredible third-round score of 286 launched them into
first place while Arizona’s poor performance of 299 dropped
them from the top two and left them with a fourth-place overall
finish.

With Pac-10 competition quickly approaching, UCLA has two weeks
to prepare to enter the toughest conference in women’s
collegiate golf. Posing the most immediate threat to a top-three
finish for the Bruins are No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 USC and No. 4
Stanford

The Bruins will hopefully be able to combine this
tournament’s incredible start with past tournaments’
stellar finishes to provide an exciting and competitive conference.
Battle takes place April 23-25 in Tempe, Ariz.