Laura Ianello knows something that her opponents donβt.
The Wildcats womenβs golf team has what it takes to win it all.
True, most coaches probably think their squad could be champions, but itβs different when Ianello says it because sheβs won before β as a UA player (2000) and coach (2018).
Last May, Arizona surprised everyone and made it to the national semifinals at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale β on a long putt from the edge of the green by Gile Bite Starkute that stunned Stanford in the quarterfinals.
Could the Wildcats make a long run again?
Theyβll find out starting Monday at a three-day NCAA regional in Albuquerque. The top four teams from each of the six regionals will advance to the national championships.
The Wildcats look a little different as both of the Hou sisters β Vivian and Yu-Sang β moved onto the professional ranks after qualifying at LPGA Q school in December. But Ianello thinks that itβs the makeup of this yearβs squad that gives them an edge.
βThese women they show up every day,β Ianello said. βAnd itβs sometimes if theyβre tired, if they donβt feel like it, theyβre still there and theyβre still grinding, they push through. Youβre doing all of the small things very, very well. And at the end of the season, which is seems to be at the time that we peak,
βI think itβs because weβre consistent. These women know what hard work is. They know what it takes. I think thatβs what pushes us through, and I think with our success β even before 2018 win β we know what postseason means and how fun it is to be there. And to win and to do great things, because thatβs what it is. Itβs a lot of fun.β
Arizona was the only school in the country to make the semifinals in three consecutive years β winning in 2018 and making it to the semifinals in 2019 and 2021. The event were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Ianello always has her team ready for postseason play. After finishing fifth in the Pac-12 Championships following and up-and-down regular season, UA may be a bit of a question mark.
βWe are so underestimated right now,β Ianello said.
βI know a lot of my other Pac-12 coaches, they give me crap. They will say I sprinkle fairy dust on my team in the postseason,β Ianello said. βBut, my Pac-12 rivals, they are nervous. They see us in the postseason, and they know. But I think SEC schools and Big Ten (schools), they look at us like, βOh, they lost their best players, theyβre not even a threat. Right?β That to me is exciting. because Iβm like, βLetβs show what we got. Letβs see what we can do.β I donβt mind being an underdog at all.β
UA had a rough first day at the Pac-12 championships, and was tied for ninth after the opening round. After a pep talk from Ianello, they climbed back over the next two days.
βEverybody around the lunch table was heads down low. Everybody acted like the tournament was over. And I just was like, βYou know what, guys?β I said, βDo I wish would have played better today? Yes.β But, at the end of the day, these are young kids and theyβre pursuing a dream. They work really, really hard,β Ianello said.
βAnd sometimes you are going to shoot 17-over, but I think as a coach we have a huge responsibility to make sure that our environment is always encouraging, always uplifting, and that we always have belief. Because the moment that I think a young person feels thereβs no belief or feel thereβs no encouragement, thatβs when I think you start to see a bad environment.β
Senior Ya Chung Chang is the player who keeps the team loose with her jokes. She is also giving the younger golfers tips about how to approach big tournaments like the NCAAs, like how to have fun at this time of year.
βOtherwise, we will give ourselves too much pressure and then your ball striking, everything just being unnatural, not consistent because your emotions up and down too much,β Chang said.
A junior leader, Starkute is quick to share everything from trying to take 10 minutes for herself each day to her mental prep for NCAAs.
The Wildcats have played on the Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque before, and know what to expect. It plays similar to Tucson Country Club and thatβs why UA practiced there leading up to the tournament. It has big greens and is βforgiving off the tee.β
βIβs one of the courses in town that actually has some rough because I genuinely feel like when we get to Albuquerque, theyβre going to have some thicker rough,β Ianello said. βI think our grass here is starting to become a little bit more dormant, not as thick and so we need to make sure weβre playing and practicing in places that has rough around the greens. Fast, firm conditions similar to our fairways that we see.β
A few Wildcats also played at The Gallery to get used to elevated greens that they will see. They also went to Albuquerque a day early to get a practice round in β just to see how far their ball flies in the extra elevation. Albuquerque is 3,000 feet higher than Tucson.
UA is the No. 4 seed at the regional. Other teams in Albuquerque include No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 2 seed Florida, No. 3 seed Texas, No. 5 seed Georgia and No. 11 seed NAU. The national championships begin May 20 at Grayhawk.
Arizona has high expectations heading into the NCAAs, but no matter what happens this week, Ianello said that this has been one of the most βgratifying and fun seasonsβ in her coaching career.
βGosh, itβs just been one most successful seasons Iβve ever had just because Iβve seen the changes that weβve made from the fall to the beginning of the spring, to now looking at the end of spring, I just see the progression that weβve made,β Ianello said. βThis is definitely one of the more rewarding seasons that Iβve ever had. At least it feels that way to me like I feel like weβre doing all the right things β¦ without the results.β