The Arizona women’s golf team will compete for the 2015 Pac-12 Championships in Boulder, Colo., today.
The three-day, three round tournament will be held at Boulder Country Club, which is a par 71, 6,437-yard course. The Pac-12 Championships are stacked with an intriguing field, and No. 6-ranked Arizona is in place to add an eighth conference championship to its collection.
There is talent in the conference this season from top to bottom, so the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them this week. Arizona will compete against No. 1 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 Washington and No. 18 ASU.
These teams are very familiar with Arizona after the Wildcats concluded the regular season by earning the UA’s second title of the season in Tempe last weekend by winning the PING/ASU Invitational.
The Wildcats had overall daily rounds of 288, 276 and 297 at the PING/ASU Invitational and had three Wildcats finish in the top 10 of the tournament.
The three were senior Manon Gidali, junior Lindsey Weaver and freshman Krystal Quihuis after the trio posted scores of 215 (-1).
Now that Arizona has completed the regular season, there are a few takeaways from the spring. For one, Arizona coach Laura Ianello has taken Arizona to the heights of when she played for Arizona.
The last time Arizona won a tournament hosted by ASU was in 2000 when Ianello played for the Wildcats, and, in the same year, Arizona won a national championship.
Also, despite Gidali being the lone Wildcat to win an individual title of the spring season, the Wildcats have figured out their season as a team and have placed scores in the top five in every tournament of the spring season.
Every athletic program always hopes to peak at the end of the season, and Arizona has completed every aspect of peaking. However, the Wildcats hope to maintain that success.
The momentum really picked up for Arizona after the Wildcats defended their title in Gainesville, Fla., at the SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational.
Arizona came back to Tucson for the Wildcat Invitational and finished in second place. To go along with a runner up finish, the Wildcats also set a school record over 54 holes by carding a score of 845 (-19).
Since March 16, Arizona has either shot under par or even. The Wildcats also won a title with every top-five team in the tournament last weekend, defending national champions, No. 5 Duke.
With the leadership and experience that Arizona has this season, and the help of promising freshman Quihuis, the UA can close the books on a good note this season.
The last time Arizona won a conference tournament came in 2010 in Eugene, Ore. The last time an individual won the Pac-12 Championships was Lorena Ochoa in 2001.
The Wildcats are looking to make history and get off on the right foot for the championship season.
Arizona will be matched with the No. 16 and sixth-seeded Stanford Cardinal. Arizona and Stanford will tee off Monday at 9 a.m.
_______________
Follow Justin Spears on Twitter.
