Women's golf confident going into spring season

By Cecile Nguyen

Though their fall season may serve as a sort of test period, the women's golf team takes serious pride in their work during the first quarter of the school year.

"It (the fall season) is kind of a warm-up and pre-season for us," said senior Corey Utsurogi. "It sets us up to see what we need to work on. It gets us into a competitive mode and helps prepare us for spring."

The women wrapped up their fall season last week and will have a short break before practice starts up again in preparation for their traditional season in the spring, in which the Broncos hope to make a regional appearance.

"We have a very deep team this year, meaning the talent level runs deep," said Head Coach Polly Schulze.

The Broncos kick-started their 2007-2008 campaign under less-than-favorable conditions at the Boise State Bronco Invitational. Santa Clara finished in seventh place after facing wind gusts up to 50 mph during the final round of play.

"It was really windy," said freshman Miki Ueoka. "The conditions were pretty difficult. It was worse than anything I've ever experienced back home in Hawaii." Ueoka led the Broncos with a remarkable collegiate debut, tying for seventh place overall at the tournament.

Next, Santa Clara traveled to Kapolei, Oahu, for the Kent Youel Invitational, where they faced stiff competition that included No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC.

"Compared to our first tournament, Kent was a breeze," Utsurogi said.

Santa Clara was in 15th place for the first two rounds before a strong final round moved them into 14th.

Again, the Broncos were lead by Ueoka, who finished tied for 19th, her second consecutive top 20 finish as a Bronco.

"I am happy with Hawaii because the team did well," Ueoka said. "I'm glad I could contribute to the team's success."

The Broncos had a chance to finish off their fall season positively at the Lampkin Cup Cal Poly Invitational last weekend. The Broncos found themselves in second place at the end of the first day, after yet another strong round from Ueoka left her just two strokes behind the leader.

Santa Clara finished the tournament in fourth place, as Ueoka finished second overall with a one-over performance. Her finish was the highest finish for a Bronco this season.

"It was good for me to be put in a situation where I had a chance to win," Ueoka said. "I am fortunate enough to experience that in the beginning of my college career because it makes me more knowledgeable about what to do in a certain situation; it gives me more experience."

The Broncos still have high aspirations for their spring season, despite losing two seniors with veteran leadership.

"We're ranked in Golfweek as No. 101," Utsurogi said. "That's our best (rank) in my last four years. And obviously our goal is to be in the top 50 to go to Regionals, so our chances to go to Regionals are good."

Santa Clara is also looking to improve on their fourth-place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships last season, in addition to improving their overall rank.

"We just want to win," said Ueoka. "I go into every tournament with a mindset that I could win. We all really worked hard. The team as a whole will continue to work hard."

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu.