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UCLA women’s golf set to compete at Blessings Collegiate Invitational

Senior Annabel Wilson follows through on a chip. Wilson returns to the starting five for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational after a 21st-place finish at the USF Intercollegiate. (Courtesy of Alicia Um Holmes/UCLA Athletics)

WOMEN’S GOLF

Blessings Collegiate Invitational

Monday to Wednesday

Fayetteville, AR

By Sabrina Baker

Oct. 2, 2022 11:36 p.m.

The Bruins are headed to the South for their second tournament of the season.

UCLA women’s golf is traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. The tournament will be held at the Blessings Golf Club, with 54 holes played over the course of three days starting Monday. The field features 11 teams, including fellow Pac-12 member California.

The blue and gold traveled to San Francisco three weeks ago, where it finished second behind San Jose State. Sophomore Caroline Canales had her best career finish in the Bruins’ initial tournament, tying for fourth place overall.

Canales said the work she put in this summer, specifically visualization, has aided her performance.

“Imagining the ball tracking on a line as it goes through the air and landing in a specific spot has been helping me stay more clear and committed to each shot,” Canales said. “(That) is probably one of the hardest things to do – to be so mentally tough that you are only focused on the shot at hand, rather than external distractions.”

The starting lineup for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational will include Canales alongside redshirt junior Ty Akabane, redshirt sophomore Alessia Nobilio, senior Annabel Wilson and sophomore Zoe Antoinette Campos. The group is not unlike the one UCLA rolled out at the USF Intercollegiate, except Campos will play instead of senior Emilie Paltrinieri.

Wilson, who placed 21st at the USF Intercollegiate, was 5-over 218 for the tournament. She said her biggest struggle was adjusting to the wind change in the afternoon during her second 18-hole round of the day.

“This next tournament will just be 18 holes a day, but I should always be flexible to weather changes,” Wilson said. “We are going to Arkansas where the weather will not be as predictable as Los Angeles, so I will have to adjust accordingly.”

Last year in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, the Bruins had a pair of top-10 finishers in Nobilio and Akabane, while Campos found herself in the top 10 after the first round before finishing in a tie for 23rd. Campos missed the Bruins’ first tournament of 2022 because of a shoulder injury.

Coach Carrie Forsyth said her team’s history of success at the tournament will hopefully pay off this time around.

“I feel like the more you play this golf course, the more comfortable you get with it,” Forsyth said. “I’m hoping we can take some momentum from what we did well last year and those girls that played well will do so again.”

The tournament will be played as a par 72 with a total course length of 6,452 yards— exceeding that of the Olympic Club course for the USF Intercollegiate, which was a 5,976 yard par 71.

In addition to the longer course yardage, Wilson said the course also has tighter fairways, especially off the tees.

“I have been working on my start direction so I can hit many fairways and give myself some birdie opportunities,” Wilson said. “That’s been the main priority, but I also have been sharpening up everything else to get myself ready.”

The Blessings Invitational and the USF Intercollegiate are further distinguished by the number of holes played. The former will feature 18 holes a day played over three days, whereas the latter consisted of a 36-hole day and an 18-hole day.

Canales said the 36-hole day posed its own challenges in the last tournament.

“We do only have 18 (holes) each day,” Canales said. “However, because we are playing in a fivesome with our own team, the rounds (are) long. Even though it is not 36 holes, it is still going to be very mentally draining and a grind.”

After the Bruins’ second-place finish in the last tournament, Forsyth said her goal for the team is to play to win.

“We want to be in contention and hopefully get (the win),” Forsyth said. “I’d like to see all of our players in the top 15. I just want to see everyone have a good week as an individual, which will, of course, lead to us as a team having a chance to win.”

UCLA will tee off Monday with televised coverage on the Golf Channel each day from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

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Sabrina Baker | Sports contributor
Baker is currently a Sports contributor on the swim & dive beat.
Baker is currently a Sports contributor on the swim & dive beat.
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