Bears Look To Continue Momentum At Stanford
Coming off its best finish in two seasons, the Cal women's golf team is looking to continue its momentum at this weekend's Stanford Intercollegiate at the Stanford Golf Course.
The Bears finished fourth out of 14 teams at last month's Molly Collegiate Invitational at Bayonet & Black Horse, with two players placing in the top-10 and another in the top-20. The Stanford Intercollegiate features 17 teams, with seven ranked in the top-25.
"We were within striking distance (at the Molly Collegiate Invitational) and were in it on the back nine of the final day. If you can continue to do that, you can come out with different results over time," Cal head coach Nancy McDaniel said. "The team is really bringing a higher competitive standard during qualifying this fall. The best way for a team to lower their scores is to be highly competitive during qualifying rounds. They are really getting after it."
Sophomore Mika Jin finished fourth out of 82 individuals at the Molly Collegiate Invitational at 1-over par while senior Katherine Zhu was seventh. Jin and senior Eun Soo Jeon each shot career-best rounds of 3-under par 69 during the tournament.
The Bears will play the Stanford Intercollegiate without Zhu, who instead will be in Florida preparing for Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying School. Zhu is second on the team in scoring average at 73.3 and has led the team in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
"We'll miss her for sure, but in the long run this is really great for Cal golf," McDaniel said. "We're happy for her. We know she's the kind of player who can be at Stage II qualifying."
Senior Elena Arias and junior Kristine Tran will make their season-debuts in the team lineup after competing as individuals at The Molly Collegiate Invitational. Arias registered the second-best scoring average for a freshman in program history but has been hampered by injuries the past couple seasons.
"She's always handled everything with resilience," McDaniel said. "She's not going to sit still for too long. Elena is a mover and a shaker. She always wants to be in the lineup. She's just always been resilient and she's back now when we need her."
The Bears tee off at 8:25 a.m. PT on Friday morning and will play in a group with Stanford and UC Davis.
CAL LINEUP:
1. Mika Jin
2. Jasmine Lew
3. Elena Arias
4. Kristine Tran
5. Eun Soo Jeon