A couple of weeks ago, the UCLA men’s golf team trailed behind USC at the Pac-10 Championships as the Trojans swept the tournament.
Today the Bruins are eager for another shot at the Trojans.
The Bruins face USC at Los Angeles Country Club for a round of match play, in which every individual match is the focus.
“It’s mentally different,” assistant coach Derek Freeman said. “As a player, you’re playing against your opponent in your match. So, you don’t have to worry about everyone else in the field. You only worry about the one guy that you’re playing against from USC, and you want to try to beat him.”
As an individual sport, the head-to-head matchups in golf are different for players because they know that their single wins could count a lot for the team.
“This is more of an intimate battle,” junior Kevin Chappell said.
Chappell is matched up with Jamie Lovemark, the No. 1 player in the country and the recent Pac-10 champion .
“I like the challenge,” Chappell said. “I’ve beat him before. He’s a good player.”
Not all of the Bruins will be available for the rivalry matchup. Sophomore Lucas Lee will not be participating because he has reached his limit of 22 competitions by playing on both the Blue and the Gold teams. Lee is still confident in his team’s ability to have a good showing.
“We have a good chance,” he said. “I respect what (USC) did at Pac-10, but I definitely think we can beat them.”
The Bruins are taking the Trojans’ recent success in a different light. Instead of being intimidated, UCLA sees the matchup as an opportunity to aim high.
“It’s exciting for us because (they’re) No. 1; they’re a very good team,” Freeman said.
“They played very well in the Pac-10 (and) won by a large margin. And they’re an in-town rival. It always gives you an incentive to want to play well, to win, to perform the possible best that you can.”
With both teams heading into the postseason in the near future, they are going into the matchup with the same seriousness that they will need down the line.
“I am glad to have competition,” coach O.D. Vincent said. “It’s a good tune-up for the regional. Both teams are going to be very competitive in a rivalry situation.”
With the grind of a long season behind them and the crunch time of the postseason closing in, the Bruins are ready to go.
“(The team) is very excited,” Freeman said. “These are the reigning Pac-10 champs. … They beat us really bad at the Pac-10 Championship. There is an incentive to go play, and go play well and try to win.”