May 18, 2012
NCAA Central | Tickets | NCAA Field | Pairings | Prepping Course | Individual Contenders
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FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Here’s the frightening news for 23 teams looking to topple reigning champ UCLA at next week’s NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships: the Bruins are coming to Tennessee with fond memories of the Vanderbilt Legends Club layout.
Close observers of women’s collegiate golf see the No. 1 ranked Bruins as a solid favorite to become the first team to claim consecutive titles since Duke earned crowns in 2006-07.
“UCLA is the top team coming in and they’ve done it before,” Golfweek.com assistant editor Julie Williams said. “I can definitely see three or four others with the talent to compete, but any team is going to have to play really, really well to beat UCLA.”
Another traditional power from the West Coast, Southern California, and three ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference – Alabama, LSU and championship host Vanderbilt – are among the squads expected to give the Bruins their stiffest competition. Perennial contenders North Carolina, Duke and Arizona State also have the talent to mount a title bid.
The Bruins’ path to consecutive titles was made easier two weeks ago when two powerful conference champions failed to advance: California from the Pac-12 and Auburn from the SEC.
Guided by Carrie Forsyth, the deep UCLA squad has dominated the women’s golf landscape in 2011-12. Their share of first place at the NCAA West Regional on May 12 marked the Bruins’ seventh tournament win, a significant D-I single-season victory total.
One of UCLA’s most impressive wins came last September at the Mason Rudolph Fall Preview, held on the same Legends’ North Course layout where the NCAA finals will be contested. The Bruins claimed a comfortable six-stroke victory in the preview, a competition which featured 14 teams in the championship field.
With arguably the deepest roster, the Bruins could better withstand the 72-hole championship format that annually hinders teams with less top-flight players. The Bruins are led by a trio of nationally ranked participants, juniors Tiffany Lua and Lee Lopez and freshman Erynne Lee.
The Bruins are paired with Southern California, the nation’s No. 3 team. Paced by Lisa McCloskey and Sophia Popov, USC always brings a top squad to the NCAAs and enter the competition with top 5 finishes in each of the last five championships. They also impressed two weeks ago with a comfortable NCAA East Regional win.
“USC is there every year. They have the depth you need to compete,” Williams said. “I think LSU has the talent, especially with (Austin) Ernst at the top, to challenge. And if I had to mention one more team with a legitimate shot, it would be Vanderbilt. Nobody else truly knows the course and those (bermuda) greens like they do. They had a good 1-2 punch in (Marina) Alex and (Lauren) Stratton.”
LSU is ranked fifth in the nation by both Golfweek.com and Golfstat.com. The Tigers finished third behind UCLA and Purdue at the NCAA finals last year, and feature Ernst trying to defend her title. Even with the home course advantage, Vanderbilt needs solid scoring from the 3-5 players behind Alex and Stratton.
Alabama also enters as the nation’s No. 2 squad and boasts three superb golfers in Jennifer Kirby, Brooke Pancake and Stephanie Meadow.
Several other teams enter the championships showing good form, including Big 12 members Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M, Pepperdine of the West Coast Conference, South Carolina and Florida of the SEC, and Michigan State and Purdue of the Big Ten.
The championships begin on Tuesday, May 22 and continue from Vanderbilt Legends Club daily through May 25.
An all-session pass for NCAA D-I Championship are $25 for adults and $15 for youth. Tickets for each day of competition are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. Tickets can be purchased either online at ncaa.com or in person at the Vanderbilt Athletic Ticket Office in McGugin Center on the Nashville campus. Tickets also will be available each day of competition.
