Monday, 4/28/97 Bruins smell scent of victory Bruins smell scent
of victory
By Chris Umpierre Daily Bruin Contributor Led by freshmen Jason
Semelsberger, who finished sixth in the individual standings, the
UCLA men’s golf team outshot No. 6 Arizona State to take third
place in the Stanford Invitational this weekend in Palo Alto. The
Bruins’ solid performance at Stanford was probably enough to
qualify the team for the NCAA Regionals. "These guys are just
studs," UCLA head coach Brad Sherfy said. "They knew they had to
play well in this last tournament, and they stepped it up." Before
this weekend, the Bruins were sitting on the proverbial bubble
along with four other teams hoping to qualify for the district’s
two remaining playoff spots. Twelve invites altogether are given to
each district. The Bruins were forced to battle New Mexico State,
California, Pacific and Stanford among an array of talented teams
in the Stanford tourney for an invitation to this year’s Regionals.
In Palo Alto, UCLA outshot three of those four teams. Only the
Stanford Cardinal finished ahead of the Bruins. "I think we are in
(the Regionals)," Sherfy said. "I think we will be as high as
tenth. I don’t see how they don’t take us. I think if I was in a
court, I’d make a good case for us to get in." A good case indeed;
the Bruins are playing their best golf of late. The third-place
finish was an appropriate closing to a month of consistent play
that featured two fifth-place finishes and a seventh-place
performance. The Bruins will next tee it up in the Pac-10
Championships on May 5-7. The conference championships will have no
bearing on the district invitations to the Regionals. The district
coaches will vote on the twelve teams for Regionals on May 5, and
with UCLA’s finish in the Stanford Invitational the Bruins figure
to be one of those twelve teams. Men’s Golf