BY ALEXANDER HYUN
Bruin Sports reporter
ahyun@media.ucla.edu
The UCLA women’s golf team’s season has come to an end after this past weekend’s NCAA championship, and looking back, it was a season of inconsistencies for the Bruins.
Prospects were promising for the Bruins as the season began.
Sophomore Alison Lee, the No. 1-ranked player in 2014, was returning to aid the Bruins.
Along with Alison Lee, senior Erynne Lee returned to finish off her collegiate career, and sophomore Bronte Law looked to start defining herself as a golfer in the 2015 season.
However, the Bruins had to quickly adapt, as Alison Lee left the team to start her professional career in December.
With Lee’s departure, freshmen Erin Choi and Lydia Choi looked to fill the shoes of one of the best players in the country.
“With Alison here, I don’t think the freshmen would’ve gotten as much experience as they had gotten throughout the year,” said coach Carrie Forsyth. “But these two have gotten tons of experience, and it’s only going to be more comfortable for them as the years go on.”
The ups and downs were apparent, as the Bruins could not accomplish a single team victory in the 2014-2015 season.
The team came close numerous times, finishing second four times and finishing in the top five a total of eight times. Overall, the Bruins finished No. 3 as a team, according Golfweek magazine’s rankings.
UCLA was able to stay in contention largely because of the play of Law and Erynne Lee.
“Staying in contention was a huge thing for us, especially after losing Alison at the beginning of the year,” Law said. “We were questioning whether we’d still be in contention in the postseason and throughout the year, so it’s something we can definitely build off of.”
Law won Pac-12 Women’s Golfer of the Month twice and individually placed first in two events this year. Law finished the year ranked No. 2 in Golfweek magazine’s individual rankings, and will return as the team’s leader next year.
On the other hand, Lee will graduate and move on from collegiate competition.
“It hasn’t hit me yet, but it’s been a great journey representing the Bruins alongside my teammates,” Lee said. “It was a difficult senior year, because we didn’t win a single regular season event and there were a lot of obstacles, but it’s been a testament to the team that we were able to overcome those obstacles and stick together.”
UCLA capped off of its season this past weekend at a newly formatted NCAA championship, and it finished in 15th place.
It wasn’t a tournament that resulted in UCLA championship No. 113, but the Bruins said they are ready to build off of it and move forward.
“It’s been a great experience coaching this year, and I hope the girls on the team now who will be on the team in the future have learned a lot about their game in terms of their weaknesses,” Forsyth said. “If nothing else, I hope they’ll grow and be prepared for the next time they go out and play under pressure.”