UCLA confident after first place tie in Regionals
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 14, 2002 9:00 p.m.
MIKE CHIEN/Daily Bruin Freshman Yvonne Choe
helped the Bruins tie for first in Regionals.
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Reporter
[email protected]
The UCLA women’s golf team did not win one tournament
during the regular season this year. So after capturing second
place at the Pac-10 Championships, the Bruins looked to a Top 5
finish at the NCAA West Regionals in Stanford, Calif., last weekend
in hopes of being able to capture the team crown at the NCAA
Championships.
However, UCLA surpassed its own expectations with a phenomenal
finish at Regionals, tying Pepperdine for first place with a final
team score of 883, 19 over par.
“The reason that we’ve been playing well is because
we’ve surpassed a lot of our limits,” sophomore Melissa
Martin said. “We’ve completely focused on our games,
especially our strengths, and everyone is at the top of their game
as we enter the NCAA Finals.”
Individually the Bruins finished strong, with sophomore Gina
Umeck tying for eighth place at 219, three-over par, freshman
Charlotte Mayorkas tying for 16th place at 221, Martin tying for
23rd at 224, freshman Yvonne Choe tying for 25th at 226, 10-over
par, and senior Alicia Um tying for 35th place at 228.
“We tried to focus more on our game and not worry about
everybody else,” Mayorkas said. “We worried about
ourselves and were confident in our abilities. We knew and know
that we’re just as good as everyone else.”
Cal finished third at 889 while top-ranked and favored Arizona
captured fourth place at 890 despite Lorena Ochoa’s first
place individual finish.
With Arizona posing the greatest threat at the upcoming NCAA
Championships, UCLA feels prepared to step up to the challenge.
“We proved ourselves at Pac-10, so we know we can compete
with them,” Mayorkas said. “Ultimately we’re
really confident and so is every other team out there, so
we’ll just have to focus really hard and have fun out
there.”
Martin feels that the Bruins have benefited from playing with
Arizona in various tournaments, and if anything they have learned
from Arizona’s reign at the top of the Pac-10 the past few
years.
“In the past few years we’ve really looked up to
them as a team,” Martin said. “We put them on a
pedestal and at Regionals, knowing they were a top-ranked team, we
really rose to the occasion.”
UCLA will have to continue to rise to the occasion at the NCAA
Finals May 21-24 in Seattle as Pepperdine, Arizona and Cal will
look to challenge Bruin hopes for their first NCAA title in over a
decade.
“It’s not going to be easy for anyone out there, but
if we put four solid rounds together there’s definitely a
chance,” Martin said. “We have the talent and have
worked hard the entire year, so we’re all excited and anxious
to play.”
