Choi leads w. golf to Palo Alto

Published: Friday, March 3, 1995

By Yoni Tamler

The sixth-ranked UCLA women's golf team travels to Palo Alto this weekend to compete in the Stanford Invitational, following its seventh-place finish last week in Tucson, Ariz.

The Bruins are fighting to regain an upper hand on the competition ever since they fell into a slump that began in November. After capturing its first two tournaments of the year and placing a close second in the third, the team began a skid which was capped off with its play in Tucson.

"It's a matter of juggling school, golf and everything else," head coach Jackie Tobian-Steinman said. "Sometimes there isn't enough time for it all and it becomes a squeeze play. After a while it gets to be a little too much, but the team is working hard right now and I know we'll come back."

UCLA enters the tournament at Stanford fully healthy for the first time in weeks. Recovering from recent ills are Eunice Choi and Jeong Min Park, who the Bruins will count on this weekend to combat an impressive field which includes the top four ranked teams in the country Arizona State, San Jose State, Stanford and Tulsa.

Jennifer Choi will also play a key role this weekend. Choi, the lone senior on the team, led the Bruins in the individual competition in each of the past two tournaments.

"Jennifer is really playing well," Tobian-Steinman said. "She's focused and she will probably end up All-American, along with (Park) and possibly Kathy (Choi)."

As for the golf course itself, UCLA won't know what to expect since this will be its first look at the newly-replaced greens at Stanford.

And despite their recent struggles, the Bruins are confident.

"We're going in there with a very good attitude because we've worked hard on our short game for the last few days," Tobian-Steinman said. "We treat each tournament as a brand new experience."