UCLA women’s golf balances preparations for finals, upcoming Aztec Invitational
By Emma Coghlan
March 14, 2011 9:40 p.m.
These days, students across campus are bunkering down in Powell, spending every free moment going over notes and lectures in anticipation of this week’s dreaded finals. For most students, the challenges of this week end with their last final and a trip home.
But this is not so for everyone. For the UCLA women’s golf team, the stress of finals week is punctuated by practice for a tournament that will begin during spring break.
Starting Sunday, No. 3 UCLA will compete in the Aztec Invitational at the Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort in San Diego, hosted by No. 43 San Diego State.
The lineup for the tournament is strong. Unlike the Bruins’ last competition, in which only three out of the 15 teams participating were ranked in the top 25, nine out of the 17 teams set to golf at Rancho Bernardo are ranked as such. Also unlike that last competition, every team that will compete in the Aztec Invitational is in the top 50.
For many of the Bruins, the course at Rancho Bernardo is uncharted territory ““ even coach Carrie Forsyth has never seen the course.
“A couple of girls on the team have played it, they said it’s a good course … but nothing very specific, so we’re kind of going to be surprised,” Forsyth said.
But according to redshirt sophomore Lee Lopez, the winner from the Bruins’ last tournament, the team isn’t worried about the course.
“It’s still the same mentality,” she said. “It’s still the same game.”
With practice rounds on Saturday, the team should be able to make the appropriate adjustments to its game in time for the Invitational.
The fact that the tournament is the summit to the already difficult climb of finals week brings yet another challenge, as the Bruins fit in practice when they can, between studying and finals. According to Forsyth, holding onto the momentum from the team’s last win through the stress of finals week is no simple task.
“It’s a very strong field. It’s an important event,” Forsyth said. “It’s challenging to be at our 100 percent best since I have girls that have a final that ends Friday at 6 p.m., and we have practice rounds on Saturday morning.”
Nevertheless, the team seems confident. Junior Stephanie Kono said that the team is used to balancing school and tournaments; they have had events coincide with finals week in the past. Lopez said the team members have learned to plan ahead from the beginning of the quarter, and make a schedule and stick to it.
The Bruins will play the same golfers who seized a considerable win at the Bruin Wave Invitational: Lopez, Kono, senior Glory Yang, sophomore Tiffany Lua and freshman Ani Gulugian will golf for the team, while junior Brianna Do will compete as an individual.
UCLA plans to go into the tournament with a fresh perspective, ignoring the challenges that face them this week, but with well-earned confidence from its most recent win.
