When Arizona was able to field a full team in March, coach Laura Ianello figured the Wildcats would make a long postseason run.
Now that they’re here — Arizona will pay in the NCAA Championships, which start Friday at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale — Ianello and her team plan to enjoy every moment.
After all, she knows how hard it is to get this far and what it takes to win it all. Ianello has won two national championships — in 2000 as a Wildcats player, and in 2018 as Arizona’s coach.
Ianello said she wasn’t anxious or nervous as the team prepared for the tournament, which begins Friday with three rounds of team play. Instead, during the week leading up to the most important moment of the season, she stuck to her routine. On Tuesday afternoon, that meant she was in line to pick up one of her daughters from kindergarten.
Her message this week to the Wildcats is simple: “Let’s seize this opportunity.”
“This is an opportunity that we didn’t know we were going to have at the beginning of this year, because we didn’t even know if we’re going to have a team with ladies not coming back because of COVID and these circumstances, so let’s rise to the occasion,” Ianello said. “Come together, believe as a group. I think a lot of people have seen our roster and how we have played this spring … they don’t really have a lot of belief in us.
“It’s more like, ‘Who cares what other people say about us? Let’s believe in ourselves and we can win this week.’ We have a roster that can win the championship this week if we do what we need to and do it right.”
Two Wildcats — Yu-Sang Hou and Ya Chun Chang — have been in this position before. Three years, Hou was a freshman on the team that brought the trophy home to Tucson. Both Chang and Hou played on the semifinals team in 2019.
“They’re definitely going to be our leaders this week, having been there and made it to (the final two days of) match play,” Ianello said. “Yu-Sang especially having won a national championship, knowing what to expect. The other three ladies Vivian (Hou), Gile (Bite Starkute) and Therese (Warner). They’re really freshmen, because last year was a complete washout with COVID. We’re going to be going to Yu-Sang a lot for leadership, especially if we make it into this match play rounds and I feel good. I feel good for the ladies. They’re in a good spot and yeah, it’s going to be a good week.”
The strategy to preparing this week was the same as for the regionals — playing different courses around Tucson to simulate shots and lies on the course they will be playing. The Wildcats played Tucson Country Club to experience its fast greens, and The Golf Club at Dove Mountain for the elevated greens and desert landscaping.
The Wildcats played Grayhawk before the NCAA Regionals to get a feel for the Scottsdale course.
“What stood out for me at Grayhawk is the elevated greens — there were so many of them,” Starkute said. “Also, the greens themselves: They were very big and very undulated. I think short game is going to be the main focus of this championship.”
Vivian Hou and Yu-Sang Hou added that Grayhawk was very similar to other courses they’ve played, like Talking Stick Golf Course. Their familiarity with the course, and others like it, could give the Wildcats an advantage.
“We are used to this type of grass, we are used to this type of temperatures, we are used to seeing a golf course visually have desert left desert right off the tee, which is very much Grayhawk,” Ianello said. “We do we do have an advantage because I think our players are not going to be as intimidated by the setting … a lot of people can’t take the heat. A lot of people visually don’t like desert golf, and our ladies play it every day. It’s a huge advantage.”
Adding to Arizona’s momentum is the way the Wildcats advanced to the championships. They posted a 5-under par in the final round of the NCAA Regionals to finish fifth; the top six teams moved on.
“It was like you can see that everything just clicked — their intensity was there,” Ianello said. “I think it was it was just the perfect storm where everything came together, putts started falling.”
What is it going to take for the Wildcats to win it all?
“It’s going to come down to who has the best short game and who makes putts,” Ianello said. “At Grayhawk, they’re not playing that golf course overly long. In my opinion, it’s going to bring the field back together. The teams that have the longest hitters are not going to have an advantage this week. I feel like from tee to green it’s going to be very even playing field. What’s going to make and break is the teams that have the sharpest short game who make the birdie putts when needed.
“Don’t err and miss greens on certain size or hazards. Grayhawk has a couple hazards. That is going to be the key element this week is to make sure we’re fine-tuned with those wedges and putter.”
