Wednesday, May 22, 1996
No. 1 UCLA seeks second NCAA title on familiar courseBy
Christopher Isidro
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
When traffic is at its worst, La Quinta is a good four-hour
journey from the mild confines of Westwood. But that doesn’t stop
the UCLA women’s golf team from calling the desert getaway
"home."
The No. 1 Bruins host the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships at the
La Quinta Resort and Club beginning today. Eighteen teams and six
individuals will be teeing up this morning at the 6,230-yard,
par-72 Dunes Course to start off the four-day tournament.
UCLA tops the list of favorites this weekend at the NCAAs. With
a stellar record, the Bruins know the nooks and crannies of the
desert layout. In the Rolex Fall Preview at the La Quinta Golf
Course earlier this season, UCLA romped to a wire-to-wire 11-stroke
victory for the first of four straight tourney wins.
"I didn’t have any expectations going into the year," UCLA head
coach Jackie Steinmann said. "As the year went on, we just seemed
to get a little bit better."
Their fast start gave way to a slump of sorts. The Bruins failed
to take any of their final six events, even taking a fourth place
finish along the way. That would be, however, their worst
performance of the entire season.
"We had a little lull there briefly," Steinmann said. "But
otherwise, we’ve done very well this year. I would say this team is
the best team I’ve had here these last 19 years."
Two first-team All-Pac-10 selections top the UCLA lineup. Jenny
Park leads the squad with a 73.8 stroke average and has five top-10
finishes to her credit. Fellow senior Kathy Choi trails just behind
with a 74.31 average this season. Six of 10 tournaments saw her
finish in the top 10 and she has yet to place out of the top
25.
Second and third-team All-Pac-10 selections Amandine Vincent,
Jeong Min Park, and Eunice Choi are expected to round out the UCLA
roster this weekend.
Despite their abundance of talent, don’t expect to see the
Bruins own a monopoly on the leader board. Arizona comes in winning
four of their final five tourneys after a rocky start.
Second-ranked San Jose State notched five victories on the season,
including two of its last three. And Arizona State comes off a win
at the Pacific 10 Championships as it seeks to defend its 1995 NCAA
title.
With reports from Rob Kariakin
UCLA Sports Info
Kathy Choi