In a sport with so many variables, it is often tough to find any
constants. Whether it’s the slope on the green, the wind
carrying the ball or the length of the grass, the golf course can
be a mystery. And yet the UCLA women’s golf team has risen
above it all to find success. After a slow start, the No. 2 Bruins
finished strong, winning the Pac-10 Championship and earning the
top seed at the NCAA West Regional, which will take place on May 11
to 13 in Washington. “It’s been a good journey,”
UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth said. “We have had a few
challenges, but we’ve played really well the last few
tournaments.” The Bruins’ season began with the loss of
junior Hannah Jun, who was injured in a car accident with UCLA
football player Justin Medlock. The collision left Jun seriously
injured, and she was unable to compete with the team this season.
“After a solid fall season with her in the lineup, it was
kind of like getting our legs knocked out from beneath us,”
Forsyth said “We struggled in the first couple tournaments
but ultimately, once the girls realized that they could win, it
kind of had a snowball effect.” Led by freshmen Tiffany Joh
and Jane Park, the Bruins won their third straight Pac-10 title.
Joh led the team with an average score of 72.2 and Park followed
closely behind with an average of 72.4. Park finished the season
ranked fifth in the nation, and Joh trailed two spots behind at
seventh. “It’s been huge having the two of them. They
were a great class coming in and we knew they’d be
exceptional players, but they have really settled in and been
excellent,” Forsyth said. The team has now turned its
attention to its next goal ““ the NCAA Championship. There
will be three regional competitions during which the eight best
teams will compete in Columbus, Ohio. However, the road getting
there will not be easy. The NCAA West Regional features four of the
nation’s top 10 teams: UCLA (No. 2), Georgia (No. 5), Purdue
(No. 8) and Arkansas (No. 10). “It’s going to be a good
tournament. We have won the regionals the past two years and we are
going there to win,” Forsyth said. “We know the
competition is going to be tough but the golf course is good, and
so hopefully that’ll make it easier for us.” Despite
doing so well in recent weeks, the Bruins know there is still
significant work to be done if they want to come out on top. There
have been instances for every athlete when small mistakes and
mental lapses led to bad scores, and the team will need to find its
consistency in order to succeed. “We just have to treat this
like any other event. Nervousness is a natural part of competing,
but all of these girls have played under pressure and know how to
handle it. We have to keep it simple and keep it about the
game,” Forsyth said.
PAC-10 HONORS: Coming off of their third
straight Pac-10 Championship, the Bruins have racked up several
awards for the 2005-2006 season. Joh and Park were named to the
All-Pac-10 First Team, and Joh was voted Newcomer of the Year. Joh
finished third in the Pac-10 Championship overall and Park finished
fifth. Sophomore Amie Cochran, who is ranked 14th in the nation,
earned Second-Team All-Pac-10 honors, and senior Susie Mathews
received honorable mention. “It’s an awesome honor. It
indicates the strength of our team,” Forsyth said.
“When you have four girls from your team getting honors in a
conference like ours, it’s an affirmation of (the
team’s) hard work.” In only seven years, Forsyth has
coached her golfers to all-conference selections on 13 different
occasions. Seven different athletes have also earned All-America
honors in that same time period.