Monday, 5/19/97 Inconsistent play, 6th place still win trip to
NCAA championships M. GOLF: Coach cites youth of players, lack of
experience as main reasons for less-than-stellar performance
throughout season
By Chris Umpierre Daily Bruin Contributor Plagued by
inconsistency for much of the season, the UCLA men’s golf team has
always faltered enough times in a tournament to put the team out of
reach of a first-place finish. This was once again the case in the
NCAA West Regional over the weekend in San Diego. Starting off hot
on Thursday, the No. 39 Bruins had to recover from a disappointing
day of golf on Friday to earn a sixth-place finish and a trip to
the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1993.
"Inconsistency has been our trademark all year," assistant coach
Glenn Toth said. "But that’s golf, it’s a game of perfect
execution. We are young and inconsistent. Once this team matures,
the consistency will come." Much of the inconsistency this season
can be attributed to the youth on the squad. Head coach Brad Sherfy
calls his golfers "the youngest team in the country," and many
other coaches can vouch in his favor. Sherfy sent two sophomores,
two freshmen and a junior to San Diego this weekend. The quintet
showed great potential in the first round, as the team was at the
top of a leader board that included some of the nation’s best
teams. UCLA began the tournament with a six-under-par 72 on
Thursday to place the team in second place behind fifth-ranked USC.
UCLA found itself ahead of top-ranked UNLV and No. 7 Arizona State
after the first round of play. But then followed a disappearance
typical of the Bruins’ season thus far. As usual, the team managed
to play one horrible round, and this time it was the second round
on Friday. Friday the team shot a dismal ten-over-par, 17 shots
above its first-round finish. The poor performance brought other
teams back into contention picture, as UNLV shot eight under par to
move into second place. UCLA plummeted to eighth place, and was on
the verge of not qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Only the
top nine teams in the 18-team regional field qualify for the
championships, held May 28-31 at Lake Forest, Illinois. But UCLA
bounced back on Saturday by shooting one over par, which was good
enough to earn the team a sixth-place finish in the regional. "Our
first round was demonstrative of our capability and our second and
third rounds were demonstrative of our incapability," Toth said.
Now, the young Bruins are looking forward to the NCAA
Championships. It should be a good learning experience for the
team, as many Bruins have no championship experience. "We hope we
can put together four rounds up to our potential (in the NCAA
Championships) which would certainly be a step in the right
direction for the ultimate resurgence of the UCLA men’s golf
program," Toth said. "When we are able to put together four rounds
of solid golf in tournaments, UCLA will re-emerge as a golf
powerhouse. We feel (with the performance in the Regionals) we are
headed in the right direction." * * * Sophomore B.J. Schlagenhauf
led his fellow Bruins this weekend by being consistent throughout
the tournament. The team captain shot two 70s and a 71 to finish at
five under par and take sixth place in the individual standings.
Junior transfer Ben Boast finished with a two-over-par, including a
69 in the first round, to finish in 27th place. True freshman Jason
Semelsberger finished in a tie for 42nd place at five over par. The
other true freshman on the squad, Steve Wagner, shot seven over par
to place him in a tie for 54th place. The Bruins’ All Pac-10
second-teamer sophomore Brandon DiTullio, who has led UCLA for much
of the year, finished in a tie for 58th place at eight over par.
Scott Quintard/ASUCLA Photography Sophomore Brandon DiTullio has
been very much responsible for the Bruins’ improved play of late.
Previous Daily Bruin stories: Bruins must master their inconstancy,
May 15, 1997