The Bruins will have the chance to win it all for the first time since 2011.

No. 14 UCLA women’s golf is headed to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the NCAA championships beginning Friday. After tying for second place at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, the Bruins will match up against 23 other teams at the Grayhawk Golf Club as they vie for the national title.

With the 2022 tournament set to be played at the same course as the 2021 tournament – where the Bruins finished in 15th place – coach Carrie Forsyth said there will be some individual advantage for her players but maybe not relative to other teams.

“We have a really good sense of the golf course, and that’s going to benefit us,” Forsyth said. “Of course, most of the teams that are going to be there have done the same thing we have too. So, how much of an advantage is it at the end of the day versus our opponents? I don’t know.”

The six-day tournament carries a different format from the other competitions of the season. All 24 teams will compete in the first three days of the tournament, with standard stroke play rules for 18 holes per day. Upon completion of the first 54 holes, the field will narrow to 15 teams for a fourth day of stroke play.

After four days of play, the individual champion will be determined and the field will again be reduced, this time to eight teams. From there, the remaining teams will be reseeded into a bracket and transition into match play, where teams will go one-on-one and compete to win individual holes.

Should the Bruins advance into match play, Forsyth said improving upon their putting at regionals will be integral to their success.

“At the end of the day, for a national championship and especially into match play, you have to putt well,” Forsyth said. “It’s always very important, but it’s even more so in this type of format. … If you don’t putt well, you don’t win matches.”

Juniors Emilie Paltrinieri and Emma Spitz and redshirt freshman Alessia Nobilio represent the international contingent of UCLA’s six-person postseason rotation. Paltrinieri said the trio’s past experiences in Europe – where match play is more common – will be helpful should the team advance beyond the first two cuts.

“Emma, Alessia and I have played a lot of match-play tournaments in Europe,” Paltrinieri said. “That’s an advantage, considering we have a lot of experience.”

Spitz finished in second place at the 2021 NCAA championships by shooting a 7-under 281 over the first four rounds. Her score put her one stroke back of Stanford’s Rachel Heck, who won both the 2021 ANNIKA Award and the individual national title.

Spitz said while she isn’t focused on past performance, her experience at Grayhawk is reassuring.

“It’s a totally new weekend (and) new tournament, so you can’t take anything from last year’s tournament,” Spitz said. “It’s nice that I know that I can play well on this course and that it kind of suits my game. … That definitely helps my confidence.”

According to Forsyth, UCLA will carry the same six-player roster for the tournament as it did at both the Pac-12 championships and the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. Redshirt sophomore Ty Akabane will be taking up the fifth spot in the rotation while freshman Caroline Canales will round out the starting lineup, with freshman Zoe Antoinette Campos starting in the substitute role.

Spitz and Paltrinieri are the only members of the six-person roster that have previously played in the NCAA championships, but Forsyth said the lack of experience can be a good thing for the remaining four players.

“We’re coming in knowing that they’re definitely going to be a little bit pumped up and a little bit excited,” Forsyth said. “That element of anticipation and excitement and nervousness can really bring out the best in a player if you know how to control it.”

Day one of the 2022 NCAA championships begins Friday.