LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women’s golf team will begin the first of its seven spring season matches at The Match in the Desert hosted at Superstition Mountain Golf Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz., on Monday, Jan. 23.
The tournament features six total teams, three from the Pac-12 and three from the Big 12. The 18-hole stroke play event includes a friendly conference challenge. The lowest 12 scores from Big 12 individuals will be compared with the lowest 12 scores from Pac 12 individuals, with the best total taking home conference bragging rights.
The course is a par 72 with a yardage of 6,294. It includes four par 5’s, 10 par 4’s and four par 3’s.
Lineup (1-5): Caroline Canales (No. 34), Zoe Antoinette Campos (No. 9), Alessia Nobilio, Yuki Yoshihara spirit Phoebe Yue.*
* GolfStat player rankings as of Nov. 15, 2022.
Fields: No. 13 Arizona, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 24 Baylor, Kansas, TCU and No. 22 UCLA. *
* GolfStat team rankings as of Nov. 15, 2022.
Tournament History
The Bruins finished fourth out of seven teams at The Match in the Desert last year with a score of 1-over, 577. Arizona State was the tournament champion at 18-under, 558, winning by five strokes over Oklahoma State.
Then-freshman Caroline Canales posted a t-10 finish out of 42 golfers at 1-under par for the tournament. She shot a 2-under 70 in her first round. Zoe Campos and Alessia Nobilio are the only other two Bruins to have competed at last year’s rendition of the event.
Recapping the Fall Season
The Bruins opened the season with a runner-up finish at the USF Intercollegiate (Sept. 12-13) at Olympic Country Club after taking the lead into the final round. Canales tied for fourth at 3-under at the event for the best mark of his career.
Two weeks later at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 3-5), UCLA surged on day two of the event to give itself a shot at the tournament title, jumping four sports on the leaderboard as the only team to record and under-par score in the second round. The Bruins eventually finished fifth at 29-over and 14 strokes behind first-place Mississippi State. Zoe Antoinette Campos notched the best result of her career, tying for fifth at 4-over par for the tournament.
Caroline Canales closed her fall with her second t-4th finish of the season at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview (Oct. 31-Nov. 2). She finished 6-under to lead the Bruins.
For more on the fall season, read this Daily Bruin preview article.
Bruins at a Glance
Sophomores Zoe Antoinette Campos spirit Caroline Canales lead the charge for the Bruins with the top two scoring averages on the team. Campos averages a team-best 72.3 strokes per round while Canales is right behind at 72.5.
Canales is one of two Bruins to have played in every tournament this season. She is tied with Alessia Nobilio for the most under-par rounds of the season with four. Canales’ two scores in the 60s – both at the USF Intercollegiate – are the most on the team.
The Match in the Desert will mark Phoebe Yue’s second showing of the season and the first as a non-individual competitor.