Monday, 5/12/97 Bruins ninth in West Regional, earn berth in
championships No. 11 UCLA barely gets by Washington in highly
competitive field of teams
By Chris Umpierre Daily Bruin Contributor It wasn’t beautiful,
but the UCLA women’s golf team got the job done this weekend. The
11th-ranked Bruins played just well enough in the NCAA West
Regional to earn an invitation to the biggest tournament of college
golf, the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, May 21-24. The
Bruins’ ninth-place finish in the NCAA West Regional in Tucson,
Ariz., was just good enough to earn a plane ticket to Columbus. The
top 11 of the 20 teams in attendance at the West Regional advanced
to the championships. The Bruins, who were seeded No. 4 in the Far
West Region, just made the cut by outshooting Washington, the 11th
team to qualify, by two strokes. The team was hard-pressed to
qualify, largely because the West Regional is one of the most
competitive regions in the country. Of the top 25 teams in the
country, the West Regional had 15 of them in Tucson playing for
just 11 spots in the NCAA Championships. No. 1 San Jose State, No.
2 Arizona, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Tulsa and No.
12 Oregon were some of the top teams that were battling UCLA for a
bid to this year’s NCAA Championships. The Arizona State Sun Devils
were a shot better than their crosstown rivals – the Arizona
Wildcats – and won the regionals. The Sun Devils had won the Pac-10
Championship a couple of weeks ago as well. UCLA was able to
qualify for the prestigious NCAA Championships because of the play
of an unlikely hero in the regional. Senior Jeong-Min Park, who
hadn’t led the Bruins in a tournament all year long, picked the
right time to do so. She shot four over par to finish in 18th
place. Sophie Sandolo, who has been at the top of the leader boards
for the Bruins ever since she transferred from France to the U.S.
in January, finished in a tie for 23rd. The Bruins will next travel
to the NCAA Championships in Ohio. The team played there earlier
this year in the Rolex Fall Preview, its second tournament of the
year. UCLA placed 12th in a competitive field. The Bruins can count
on the NCAA Championships having an even more competitive field.
Now the Bruins find themselves just one first-place finish away
from their second national championship in school history. But
winning will be easier said than done, as the Bruins have not
secured a first-place finish all year. They’ll have their chance in
Ohio. UCLA Sports Info Sophomore transfer Sophie Sandolo