The UCLA women’s golf team found itself in an all-too-familiar a position heading into Sunday morning’s final round of the Betsy Rawls Invitational.
After leading the first two rounds of competition, the Bruins needed a solid final-round performance to take home their first winner’s trophy of the season.
But unlike previous final rounds in which they could not hold on, the second-ranked Bruins rallied behind spectacular Sunday rounds of even-par from senior Sydnee Michaels and sophomore Brianna Do, capturing their first victory this season at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. UCLA posted 884 (+20) on the tournament, six strokes under second-place Arizona.
“We know (Arizona was) right there, we just need to want it more than they do. … We need to recognize that we’ve been here before and just go out and play,” coach Carrie Forsyth said.
Do took Forsyth’s new aggressive approach to heart and went pin-seeking, firing 12 total birdies in the tournament and finishing third overall as an individual with a score of 220 (+4).
Joining Do in a tie for third place was fellow sophomore Stephanie Kono, who started off her tournament with back-to-back rounds of 71 (-1).
Michaels contributed to the efforts with a performance good enough to tie for fifth place and shot 221 (+5) on the tournament.
Giving UCLA its fourth player in the top 10 individually was freshman Tiffany Lua, who fired a 223 (+7).
Junior Glory Yang held down the Bruin’s rotation and finished in a tie for 47th place, shooting 236 (+20).
The Bruins faced a number of ranked opponents in the tournament, including No. 8 Arizona, No. 12 Stanford, No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 22 New Mexico.
Forsyth said that the win would help ease expectations for the future amid the mounting pressure that has built up throughout the winless season. But she was careful to assert that one win does not change how UCLA approaches its next match in the Ping Invitational at Tempe, Ariz. in April.
“We know we can win,” she said. “We don’t need to worry about it (winning) anymore. … We’re going to go after it and not hold back.”