Men’s golf continues struggle
in Santa Barbara tournament
Women’s golf team secures fourth at Ping/ASU tourney
By Yoni Tamler
and Lawrence Ma
Daily Bruin Staff
Maybe it was because of poor scheduling. Or maybe it was because
the lineup has been changed repeatedly.
For whatever reason, the UCLA men’s golf team once again could
not get it together in two attempts last week. In their second
outing of spring break at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate
Invitational in Santa Barbara, the Bruins finished 15th in a field
of 23 schools. UCLA’s best round of the tournament (297) fell 10
strokes short of winner San Jose State’s round.
"The last three years (at this time of the year) the team has
played poorly, and it’s always right after finals," UCLA coach
David Atchison said. "So I am debating whether or not to schedule
any tournaments over spring break for next year."
UCLA’s performance on the Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa Barbara
hinged on the play of their top two starters, Kevin Rhoads and Eric
Lohman, whose respective stroke averages are both just above 73.
Lohman shot a second round score of 82, while teammate Rhoads
managed only an 80 in the same round.
UCLA is re-examining their performances and weaknesses as they
enter into spring, the most intense season of play.
"We played pretty good during the fall, coming in third place in
three out of the first four tournaments, but since then we really
haven’t done very well," Atchison said. "We have the potential to
be a good team but we just haven’t been doing it recently."
One troublesome area in particular has been the lineup. The
Bruins were dealt a crushing blow when freshman Fredrik Henge
decided not to return to school following the fall quarter.
"(Henge’s departure) was a big loss to the team," Atchison said.
"We could really use his game in the lineup right about now."
To add to UCLA’s woes, the top four starters have been solid for
most of the year, but thus far no player has emerged to
consistently compete in the fifth spot. On a brighter note, junior
Lance Graville had a promising performance in Santa Barbara while
competing in the jinxed fifth spot.
"All in all, the team was very disappointing this winter,"
Atchison said. "Now is the time to pick up the slack, because it’s
getting down to the nitty-gritty. We have two big tournaments
coming up before the playoffs, one at Arizona State and then at
Stanford, and there will be great fields at both of them."
For now, UCLA can rest fairly easy because they are still ranked
No. 10 in their region, where the top 12 teams advance to the
playoffs.
"We shouldn’t have a problem making the southern regionals,"
Atchison said. "We certainly didn’t do ourselves any favors in the
last two tournaments, though."
UCLA’s team roster looks bright for next year, having already
received one written commitment and actively pursuing two other
recruits. Brandon Ditullio is a hard-hitting incoming freshman from
Thousand Oaks who "fits the UCLA profile," according to
Atchison.
* * *
The men were not the only ones who spent their spring break on
the greens. The UCLA women’s golf team travelled to the Karsten
Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz. to compete in the Ping/Arizona State
Invitational. The team recorded its second fourth-place finish in a
row in a field that featured the best programs in the country,
including host Arizona State, Stanford, San Jose State and
Texas.
ASU rolled predictably to first place, two of their players
finishing first and second in the individual tournament. UCLA’s
Kathy Choi tied for seventh place overall (222) by shooting even
par in the second round. Eunice Choi and Jennifer Choi (no
relation) both shot 228, tying for 17th place, while Jeong Min Park
and Betty Chen finished at 231 and 232, respectively.
UCLA never matched ASU’s rounds of 290-289-280, and eventually
lost by 43 strokes. Currently the Bruins are gearing up for the
California Collegiate Tournament in Palo Alto, Calif., which begins
one week from next Saturday.