Friday October 12, 2001

The last time Arizona visited the Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis, Ore., it took the NCAA West Regional title by 20 strokes.

At this week's Oregon State Invitational, the Wildcats seemed primed to follow suit, leading California by 7 strokes going into the final round and riding the crest of another dominating performance by No. 1 ranked sophomore Lorena Ochoa.

Then things took a turn for the worse. Inclement weather marred the final day of play on Wednesday, and though Ochoa remained unfazed, matching her previous day's score of 67, scores began to rise across the leader board. The other four UA golfers all posted their highest scores of the tourney.

Ochoa's 10-under par score of 206 - her career low and one of just four sub-par final scores posted - placed her first, 9 strokes ahead of the field. Cal golfers Anne Walker and Sarah Huarte finished tied for second with Stanford's Kim Kouwabunpat at 1-under par 215.

Cal's team effort, however, was enough to climb back into a first-place tie with Arizona at the end of play. Because of the NCAA's tie-break policy - which states that in the event of a tie, the low score of each team's fifth player is the deciding factor - Cal was awarded the team title. Anna Temple of Cal finished with an 18-over-par 234, while UA senior Cathie Williamson shot a 243 in her first varsity event.

Juniors Laura Myerscough and Anne Lee joined Ochoa in the top 15, finishing 10th and 14th, respectively. Myerscough carded a 7-over-par 223, while Lee finished with a 9-over-par 225. Junior Julia Kraschinski came in 25th with a 12-over-par 228. Williamson rounded out the lineup, finishing 27-over-par, good enough for 73rd place.

Head coach Greg Allen lamented the weather, but identified lack of experience as a culprit.

"(The conditions were) miserable. It was probably 50 degrees, steady rain for probably 12 of 18 holes - stuff we're not used to seeing here (in Tucson)," Allen said. "(But there are) no excuses, we should have won it. We need to be mentally tougher, and that's just going to come from experience."

Junior Anne Lee said the weather was a distraction.

"It was hard to concentrate because the weather was so bad," Lee said. "It was so cold we couldn't feel our hands."

Allen said the team is beginning to coalesce and expressed optimism in the wake of the team's 10-spot improvement over last week's 11th-place finish at the NCAA Preview.

"We're coming around as a team - we have some good chemistry going," Allen said. "The way (Ochoa) is playing right now, she's in a zone, and we just need a couple people to step up and produce and play even-par golf or just a few over (par)."

The rain clouds did not leave UA without a few bright spots. New Zealand native Kraschinski showed signs of the form that almost won her the 2000 NCAA Championship - she finished second in that tourney to former UA star Jenna Daniels - in her second competition since back surgery.

Kraschinski's opening-round 72 - shot the day after her 20th birthday - put her in seventh place, and she remained in the top 10 until the final round in Corvallis. Her 25th-place finish was her best of the nascent season. Lee carded a career-best round of 71 on Monday, eclipsing her previous career best of 72, also shot at Trysting Tree.

"I don't think (the round of 71) has much to do with the course," Lee said, citing a different rough configuration and the dismal weather. "It was a totally different course this year."

Allen said he expects Ochoa's teammates to improve as the season progresses.

"Golf's a crazy game, and right now Ochoa's peaking. Our goal is to peak at the right time of the year," Allen said. "Every one of our girls know they need to step it up."

The Arizona women's golf team returns to action Oct. 30 at the Hawaii Fall Invitational in Honolulu.