Arizona Wildcats 'got a home advantage' at NCAA Championships in Scottsdale

All the Arizona women’s golf team needed to qualify for the NCAA Championships was a top-five finish at the Raleigh Regional hosted by NC State last week.

Mission accomplished. Arizona shot a 7-under in the final round, punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, and prepared for its trek back to Tucson.

What was initially a second-place finish turned into a victory after an NC State golfer was disqualified for an incorrect scorecard, moving the Wildcats into first place on the team leaderboard.

“We were getting some lunch, getting some sushi and all of a sudden we’re at the lunch table,” said UA coach Laura Ianello, “and my freshman Maria (Cabanillas) went on (GolfStat.com) and went, ‘Guys, we won!’ It was quite a bit of shock because NC State is the home team, and they have the advantage and they played tremendous golf that week, and they nipped us by about two shots. ... Sadly, they had an unfortunate incident where the young lady had to disqualify herself for signing an incorrect scorecard. It happens; mistakes are made. But it’s very honorable for that young lady to have turned herself in for the missed number on Hole 9.

“We won, we took the title, and we’re on our way to Scottsdale this week.”

Ianello said a scorecard miscalculation happens “every four or five years.”

“Accidents happen. You’re keeping score for somebody else and maybe you’re not paying attention to everything that’s going on,” she said. “Sometimes you write a four on the scorecard, when it should’ve been a five, and vice versa. ... As a coach, you just remind your players go hole-by-hole and make sure everything is correct before you sign that card. But it does happen, sadly.”

Arizona qualified for the NCAA Championships for the ninth time since Ianello took over as head coach in 2011. Last season, the Wildcats didn’t qualify for the first time since 2017.

Leading up to the NCAA Championships from Friday through next Wednesday 24 in Scottsdale, Ianello recently joined the Star’s Justin Spears on ESPN Tucson’s “Spears and Ali” to look ahead at a potential national title run, one freshman’s impact, and provide a scouting report on Grayhawk Golf Club:

Under your direction, Arizona has performed at this stage and won a national championship in 2018, but the Wildcats have also fallen short; how would you describe the challenges of being successful in this environment?

A: “It’s a long week. You can’t get high too early and you gotta get there, do your due diligence on mapping the course, having a good strategy. ... We just came off an exhausting week at NCAA Regionals, so we’re also making sure these women get rest and balance that they need so that way they are ready. ... We need to make sure we’re sharp and our birdies are recovered. It’s the highs and the lows: there’s going to be some bogeys, some birdies, and it’s just about staying the course and keeping your mind consistent and not too ahead of yourself and staying in the present.”

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Freshman Julia Misemer finished tied for second at the Raleigh Regional after shooting 8-under; how much has she ascended this year and complemented your upperclassmen?

A: “It was a golf course that really fit her game. Julia is a long-ball hitter and hits the ball a long way, and is so strong. She’s so powerful and can sometimes overpower a golf course. Last week, it was a perfect fit for her because there were five Par 5s at the course we were playing at, and that’s her strength. ... She’s getting into her stride, she’s gaining her confidence. Two weeks before the conference championships, Arizona women’s golf had performed the worst we had in years.

“We were at a down point, so to see these women face the adversity and stick to our why and our goals, it was critical. They remember why we’re here, what we’re doing, and we’re led by Gile Bite Starkute, my senior from Lithuania. ... She struggled the first two rounds at the NCAA Regionals, but I had her give the team a pep talk before the morning round of that final day. Us coaches, we can talk, ‘Rah, rah, rah!’ and build them up, but at the end of the day, the women playing that day, it’s their team. It’s their choice how they’re going to fight and play. I threw Gile under the gun and said, ‘Hey this is your team, I want you to talk to them about today and what it means and what you want to see from everybody.’ ... We have it all. We have the leadership, we have the depth and I have no doubt that if things go our way, we’ll be there in the end winning it all (this week).”

Five years ago, your team came out of nowhere and won a national championship; have you gathered any similar signs with this year’s rendition of the Wildcats?

A: “Oh, without a doubt. In 2018, we were considered the Cinderella story, but I’ll tell you what, we were by far one of the best teams in the country. Since we played so poorly that final round, people threw us out. But if you look at that roster in 2018, we had four of those players currently on the LPGA Tour, so we were definitely a contender. This year, we’re young. We have two freshmen (Misemer and Pimmada Wongthanavimok), two sophomores (Lilas Pinthier and Carolina Melgrati) and Gile, our senior. What excites me about this group is that they’re getting experience early and fighting for one another, which is so important.

“After the year that we had, and we’ve experienced a lot of highs and lows, I love to see these young women fight through adversity. Kids nowadays don’t have a lot of adversity. They’re going to college, and the NCAA is providing a lot for these young people. For them to battle and to conquer and get through to reach their goals, it’s such a great experience for these young people.

“One thing I love about athletics is that they teach you so much about life skills. Even if you fall down, like we didn’t qualify last year, we learned so much from that. We really appreciate qualifying this year.”

What’s your analysis of the course at Grayhawk Golf Club?

A: “We’re kind of in our backyard. It’s desert golf, it’s going to be hot, a little breezy — everything that we’re used to. That gives us comfort. ... We know the golf course, we’ve played it many times and played in these conditions continuously, because we live in Arizona. ... I’ll tell you, we’ve got a home advantage.”