By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wildcats persevere despite loss of coach, Daniels
Following a season in which the Arizona women's golf team won the NCAA Championship by 21 strokes, the Wildcat women have been named the nation's No. 1 team, according to the MasterCard Collegiate Golf preseason rankings.
The Wildcats led all schools with 330 first-place votes. Stanford, Duke, Auburn and Southern California round out the nation's top five.
For sophomore Julia Kraschinski - ranked seventh individually in the preseason polls - the persuasion awards serve as a starting point to a repeat championship.
"After finishing well last year, we've got some good girls on our team," she said. "Greg is awesome."
Greg is first-year head coach Greg Allen, who took over the program after Todd McCorkle left UA to lead Georgia's women.
According to Kraschinski, the new coach's attitude is a welcome change.
"They (McCorkle and Allen) are very different," she said. "They're both great, but they're both different. (Allen) is concerned for us. He talks to us individually and wants to know what each of us wants."
Junior Christina Baena, ranked second in the preseason individual polls, will take the reigns as the team's top player following the departure of Jenna Daniels to the LPGA.
"I think the team will do really well," Kraschinski said. "Christina (Baena) is ranked second and Christina (Monteiro) is a senior."
However, the Wildcats will have to spend the first tournament of the season without Kraschinski, who will be forced to miss the NCAA Preview tournament due to back problems.
"I can't play for the first (tournament), and I'm not sure about the second," she said.
Replacing Kraschinski might not be easy, but the Wildcats apparently have the talent to do so.
"We've got three great freshmen (Lorena Ochoa, Nancy Abiecunas and Natalie Gulbis) coming in," Kraschinski said.
Allen, who takes over the Wildcats after a tenure as an assistant coach at Texas, is excited about the possibility of taking over the nation's top team
"It's an unbelievable feeling," he said. "It's an honor and a blessing to take over a program at the top. With the talent of golfers on this team, it's that much more special."
For now, the UA women are enjoying the top ranking and are looking forward to starting the season Sept. 15-17 at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
"The rankings can be motivation to try to repeat," Allen said. "(The ranking) speaks highly of Tucson, the U of A, and the women's golf program. The only thing I have to worry about is getting the girls to the course on time."
