Womenâs golf preparing for NCAA West Regionals

Graduation will mark the end of college, but for the womenâs golf team, things are just getting started.

The Wildcats head into this weekendâs first round of the NCAA West Regionals as the top seed.

Following two-time defending West Regional champion Arizona are six other Pacific 10 Conference teams. In the nine-year history of the NCAA Regional, the Wildcats have won the tournament four times and finished second twice.

UA has not finished lower than second since an eighth-place finish in 1995.

The No. 1 seeding is well deserved for a Wildcat squad fresh off the Pac-10 championship, and a season that was filled with success despite injury-induced set backs.

Head coach Greg Allen said he believes the team is getting better and healthier with each day.

ãWe always talked about being postseason strong and going into the postseason and being on top of our game,ä Allen said. ãI felt we were getting there. I donât think weâve peaked yet, but I think we are about to.ä

Highlighted by the sparkling play of sophomore Lorena Ochoa, Arizona continued to be among college golfâs best teams.

Ochoa won a stretch of seven straight individual tournaments, and managed to sandwich in a three-week stint on the professional tour.

During a span that stretched almost eight months, Ochoa claimed medallist honors seven times and shot par or better in 17 of the 20 rounds she played. Ochoa, the nationâs top-rated golfer, has a stroke average of 70.00 this season and was an obvious selection to the All-Pac-10 Team.

ãNot only this season, but her entire career is kind of magical,ä Allen said. ãShe got so much national attention and so much pressure ÷ she is just such a great kid to be able to handle that pressure like a champion. She has played in 18 tournaments in her career and won 11 of them. That is amazing to me.ä

But Allen said it is the supporting cast that makes this Wildcat team so good.

All Pac-10 second-team selection Laura Myerscough has been a consistent contributor all season, Allen said.

Myerscough finished a solid season with her best placing thus far at the Pac-10 Championships ÷ a fourth-place finish at 3-over-par 219.

Both the fourth-place finish and her score of 219 marked career bests for Myerscough. She has garnered seven top-25 finishes this season, including three top-10 finishes to add a brutal second punch to the Wildcat lineup.

ãLaura is a kid that has come a long way,ä Allen said. ãThere is no one in golf that grinds as hard as she does. (At the Pac-10 championships) she started with a bogey, double-bogey and bogey. She was 4- over after three (holes). She made a great comeback and ended up shooting 73. She has had some pressure and she is starting to peak.ä

Arizona started off the season with an 11th place finish at the NCAA preview in September.

Since the fall preview, the Wildcats have not finished lower than sixth, with the exception of placing ninth in a tournament played in near-freezing conditions and without Ochoa.

The Ochoa-led Wildcats got another boost with the acquisition of freshman Mar Garcia.

Garcia ÷ sister of PGA tour star Sergio ÷ has battled injury to add another dimension to the Wildcats off the tee.

ãHaving Mar in the lineup has been big,ä Allen said. ãI knew when she played the Wildcat Invitational she was going to be a tremendous asset. Then she hurt her shoulder. We have seen signs of greatness. Ever since she has been enrolled she has talked about helping this team.ä

First-round play at the NCAA West Regional begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow in Stanford, Calif. at the Stanford Golf Course.