Arizona’s women’s golf returns to play this week at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.
After finishing in second place at the Pac-12 Preview in October, the women are returning to the spring season more confident than ever. Thanks to the coaching and support of coaches Laura Ianello and Derek Radley, the team has already found success in the fall season and will look to build upon that success in search of a championship.
The team’s strategy for the rest of the season is improve day by day, enjoy the process, have a positive attitude and win championships according to Ianello.
The beginning of the season had some ups and downs, but the Wildcats ended strong in Hawaii where the team finished second, proving to themselves they could compete against a tough group of competitors.
“I feel that we as a team did great at the Pac-12 Preview,” said junior Krystal Quihuis. “I know we struggled as a team in the fall, but we reviewed our weaknesses and converted them into our strengths.”
The women started their fall season in September where they finished in fifth place at the Dick McGuire Invitational with Quihuis and Haley Moore finishing in a tie for third individually.
The Wildcats struggled at the Windy City Collegiate Classic where they finished eighth overall with no players in the top ten. However, the women improved their game at the Pac-12 Preview and finished in second overall with individual finishes for Quihuis in third, Gigi Stoll in fourth and Moore in seventh.
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The Pac-12 preview the best finish of the fall season according to Moore, who points to her two third place finishes as a part of her success she feels satisfied with.
As the season moves forward, Ianello repeatedly singles out Moore and Quihuis as the team’s standout players. Quihuis has had a successful season so far with two top ten finishes this year. Moore and Stoll have also shown improvement with Moore finishing in the top-15 in all the tournaments this season and Stoll finishing in fourth place at the Pac-12 Preview.
“I’d like to improve on staying in the moment,” Quihuis said. “I tend to get excited when I’m way under par.”
Moore also said she is looking to improve her game, particularly her short game, by improving her up and down percentage around the greens. Moore explained how the team has to know that their short game needs to be on point going into the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge this week.
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Looking towards the rest of the season, the women are looking forward to improving and playing their best game at the Pac-12 Championship this year.
“I’m looking forward to the season getting started,” Moore said. “Especially when we host the Pac-12 Championships, it gives us a big advantage and a great opportunity to win it.”
Arizona heads to Palos Verdes, Calif., this week where they hope start strong and continue their success. The Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge kicks off on Feb. 12 at the Palos Verdes Golf Club.
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