For its first tournament after falling in last year’s NCAA Championship, UCLA was looking to get back on its feet.
However, it looks like it just fell back a few steps.
UCLA women’s golf had their worst finish in over three years, finishing at 50 (914).
They went into Golfweek Conference Challenge in an underdog position ““ two top sophomores, Kyle Roig and Erynne Lee, left for the World Amateurs in Turkey, and senior Tiffany Lua is sidelined with a wrist injury.
A team of two vets and two freshmen made their way to Colorado for the Golfweek Collegiate Invitational this weekend, hoping to get their season off to a strong start.
For a team that is a perennial title favorite, it was a less than ideal start ““ the Bruins finished in ninth place.
Although many expected the influx of inexperienced freshmen into the travelling squad might be the snag in UCLA’s game, the team brought home poor scores across the board.
The team’s top finisher was redshirt senior Lee Lopez, who finished tied for 20th at a score of 6 (222).
Junior Ani Gulugian tied for 32nd at a score of 10 (226).
In their first collegiate tournament, freshmen Louise Ridderstrom and Jacquie LeMarr came in 36th and 70th respectively.
Ridderstrom closed out the tournament with a score of 12 (228), and LeMarr ended up at 22 (238).
UCLA went into the season the No. 2 ranked team in the country, only behind last year’s national champion Alabama.
The tournament’s top finisher was Pepperdine, who topped out at a score of -4 (860). The Waves were the only team to finish under par.
The top individual finisher was senior Demi Runas, from UC Davis.
The Bruins’ finish of 50 was their worst since 2009, when they finished at 65 in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
UCLA will see its next action in just over a week, when they travel to Athens, Ga. for the Fall Preview.
The Preview will take place at the University of Georgia Golf Course Oct. 5-7.
Bruins all over the world
While the UCLA squad finished up competition yesterday, Lee and Roig get going at the World Amateurs today.
Lee, who is the No. 6 ranked women’s collegiate player, is on the three-woman USA team. She joins No. 20 ranked LSU junior Austin Ernst and No. 7 USC graduate Lisa McCloskey on the team.
Roig is representing Puerto Rico, joining Maria Torres and Patricia Garcia. Garcia plays for Texas A&M and Torres is a high school senior set to play college golf at University of Florida.
The competition brings together Amateurs from all over the world for the chance to compete for their country. It starts today and concludes on Sunday.
It occurs every two years, and awards the winner with the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Compiled by Emma Coghlan, Bruin Sports senior staff