WOMEN’S GOLF Ping/ASU Invitational
Friday-Sunday All Day Tempe, Ariz.
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Contributor
A new quarter brings new hope for the No. 18 UCLA women’s
golf team as it prepares to battle tough competitors No. 1 Duke,
No. 2 Arizona, and No. 3 USC in the Ping/ASU Invitational this
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Tempe, Ariz.
“This is probably the best field we’ve faced all
year,” said Coach Carrie Leary. “It’s important
for us to do well because it’s right before the Pac-10s and
it will have a bearing on our ranking in the region.”
No. 1 Duke will provide an especially tough challenge for the
Bruins as the Blue Devils captured their sixth tournament victory
this year at last weekend’s Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in
Georgia.
A combination of personal effort and teamwork will provide the
opportunity for UCLA to shine in its last tournament before Pac-10
competition.
“We’ve all been working a lot outside of practice,
which has been really good when we come together to play as a
team,” senior co-captain Laura Moffat said. “We are
capable of winning it, but the key is to know that we
are.”
The team is upbeat and playing well after a couple days of rest
over spring break. In the Bruins’ latest practices, focus has
been drawn to the short game, which according to Leary “has
definitely been the biggest area of needed improvement.”
The Bruins are coming off their best performance of the winter
season with a fifth-place finish in the Pioneer Bruin Classic in
March. However, their focus is still directed on a top-five finish
and improving their consistency.
“Our problem is that we’ve all played well at
different times,” Moffat said. “We got it together in
the first round of the Pioneer Bruin Classic when we shot a 291, so
we know we can do it. We all just have to play the way we know how
to and we’ll be fine.”
UCLA will be led by the line-up of Saki Uechi, Laura Moffat,
Gina Umeck, Melissa Martin and Alicia Um, a dynamic mix of under
and upperclassmen for the team.
Although Leary feels the team has been playing at a mediocre
level since winter break, she looks toward Moffat’s
individual performance to provide a stellar performance for
UCLA.
“No one has dominated a tournament for a while, and
everyone needs to step up,” Leary said. “But I look to
our senior Laura Moffat to step up in this tournament. She has the
best returning record and the ability for her is there.”