UCLA wanted this win. Without a finish over USC in the women’s golf Pac-10 Championships, the Bruins knew that the No. 2 Women of Troy would take over the top spot in the country and snatch the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Regionals from out of their hands.

And as much as the Bruins reached for the win, they could not quite grab it. They remained stuck behind USC throughout the entire competition, taking third place in the first round and dropping to fourth in a tough second round that left them 11 strokes behind the lead. The team then looked to the final day to see what the competition would bring.

In the end, UCLA took third place overall, shooting 873 (+9). No. 7 Arizona took second place with 869 (+5), and USC dominated, with a final score of 864 (E). It marked UCLA’s 10th consecutive top-three finish at the Pac-10s.

“Our second day killed our chances,” sophomore Tiffany Lua said. “It was bad timing that we all had a bad round on the same day.”

The Bruins had boosted confidence going into the Pac-10s, knowing that they recently dominated the PING/ASU Invitational at the same course. This time, though, the players just did not have what it took to win.

“It just wasn’t as on as it was (at the last competition),” freshman Ani Gulugian said. “Tiffany was on her game, obviously, but the rest of us were struggling a little.”

The individual competition ended in a playoff between Lua and USC freshman Sophia Popov, who, at the end of competition, were tied for first with a score of 210 (-6).

It seemed, though, that UCLA still could not catch a break over USC – Popov won the playoff that the duo played on hole 18. Lua bogeyed the hole, and Popov parred it for the win.

“You could tell they were playing really well, and they felt really good,” senior Glory Yang said of the Women of Troy at the end of the first round.

Rounding out UCLA’s standings were junior Stephanie Kono in a tie for 15th, shooting 221 (+5), Gulugian in a tie for 17th with 222 (+6), Yang in a three-way tie for 19th with 223 (+7) and redshirt sophomore Lee Lopez in a six-way tie for 22nd with 225 (+9).

Although the Bruins wanted the top seed, they recognize that what is done is done. They stressed the fact that not getting the top seed is not a major tragedy – golf is golf no matter where they play, even if they have to travel through extra time zones.

“It’s not a big deal to me, it’s not a big deal to any of us,” Lua said. “It’s really nothing more than a hassle.”

UCLA will next find out its seed and location for NCAA Regionals on Monday and will compete from May 5-7.

But until then?

“We plan on working really hard to be prepared,” Gulugian said.