Team reflects on struggles, triumphs
By Daily Bruin Staff
June 3, 2001 9:00 p.m.
COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Freshman Melissa
Martin follow through her swing in a tournament earlier
this year.
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Reporter
The 2000-01 season of the UCLA women’s golf team was a lot
like a family vacation: it started with a bang but failed to avoid
hitting some major bumps in the road. Looking back though, it
turned out to be better than expected ““ and the highlights
and unforgettable moments that occurred made it all worthwhile in
the end.
Oh, and the fact the Bruins took first place in two tournaments,
had three players named Honorable Mention on the All-Conference
Team, and placed fifth in the NCAA Finals above all other West
Coast teams (three of which were ranked in the top five in the
nation) also helped to make it worthwhile.
Despite the team’s great accomplishments, there initially
weren’t many expectations for the Bruins. Failing to qualify
for the NCAA Finals the past four years, hopes for a National
Championship had faded since 1991, the last time UCLA won it all.
The closest the Bruins came to that was placing fifth at the NCAA
Finals four years ago.
“We’re in, without a doubt, the strongest conference
in the nation,” Head Coach Carrie Leary said earlier this
year. “We obviously want to win, but realistically it’s
going to be tough. Our goal is to finish in the top three. If we
do, we would walk out very proud of our effort.”
But the Bruins played in 12 tournaments and had 10 top-10
finishes. Not too shabby for a team that was originally ranked 16th
in the nation.
“It was mental more than anything else,” Leary said.
“We were in position but we just had to overcome self-doubt
and realize we were a dominating force in our
conference.”
That’s not to say that there weren’t rough times,
although the fall season wouldn’t have led you to believe
anything of the sort; the Bruins placed first in both the Hawaii
Fall Invitational and the SDSU Fall Classic, while placing in the
top-10 in three other tournaments.
“We’re going to get better results because the team
looks like it’s playing well now,” Leary said at the
beginning of the spring season. “I really think we’re
going to put it all together as a team.”
Additionally, freshman Johanna Andersson captured her first
individual title at the SDSU Fall Classic. With three vibrant true
freshmen (Andersson, Melissa Martin, and Gina Umeck) and two
experienced senior co-captains (Leilani Bagby and Laura Moffat), it
looked like this could be the turnaround season for the Bruins.
But a slow start after winter vacation showed that the Bruins
were slowly beginning to lose their luster.
“Coming into the second half of the season, we
unfortunately struggled in our first two events,” Leary said.
“We needed to change just about everything in our game. No
one was really playing up to their full potential and we just
needed to get more on track.”
Before Pac-10 competition, UCLA had only one top-10 finish at
the Ping ASU Invitational, where they placed tenth. A Pac-10 title
seemed out of reach, and aspirations of qualifying for the NCAA
West Regionals were present, but faint.
“I think they all understand the importance of the rest of
the season,” Leary said before Pac-10 competition. “I
expect them all to stay sharp and to be ready for the
Pac-10s.”
But UCLA finished eighth in Pac-10 competition, qualifying the
team for the NCAA West Regionals and a shot at entering the NCAA
Finals.
And once the Bruins were handed that lemon, they were determined
to make some lemonade ““ for each individual golfer and the
whole team.
The Bruins pulled out an incredible fourth-place finish in the
NCAA Regionals above No. 3 USC and other Pac-10 teams. After such a
detrimental spring season, UCLA felt the potential for a strong
finish at the NCAA Finals for the first time in a long time.
And when they got there, the Bruins looked to Moffat to lead the
team.
“Others have to see that you are a fighter and that you
will fight for every shot,” Leary said. “Laura is
exceptionally good at that. She has the best returning record and
the ability for her is there.”
And she did just that. The Bruins’ potential exploded as
they finished the first round in second place and senior Moffat led
the tournament in first place.
Second and third round action, however, provided challenges for
both UCLA and Moffat. Teams like No. 1 Duke began to step up and
play hard-core golf. Players like Katy Harris of Louisiana State
were biting at Moffat’s heels, eager to capture the lead.
By the end of the third round, UCLA was in sixth and Moffat held
second place. One more round would have sealed an individual
national title for the graduating senior.
But the fourth round brought bittersweet triumph for the Bruins,
as the team tied for fifth-place overall and Moffat tied for sixth
individually.
The Bruins pulled themselves out of the sand dunes, but still
have to drive the game they know they can. With captains Bagby and
Moffat gone, the youth of the team will have to carry UCLA to the
prominence it had 10 years ago.
“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.”
