There’s no lengthy layoff this time, and that’s the way Melissa Luellen likes it.
After a month-long break between the No. 1 ASU women’s golf team’s previous two tournaments, the Sun Devil coach is in Eugene, Ore., with her squad for the Pac-10 Championships, a week removed from a home tournament that saw ASU blow a win on the final three holes.
“I’m glad we are getting right back out there,” Luellen said last week.
The Sun Devils are the defending Pac-10 champions, winning last season’s conference tournament by nine strokes over second-place USC at the Stanford Golf Course.
Then-freshman Carlota Ciganda earned medalist honors by winning in a playoff over teammate Jennifer Osborn.
Ciganda chipped in for par off the 18th green to earn the victory, the first of her collegiate career.
For ASU, this week’s tournament is likely to provide competition on par with what the Sun Devils will face at the NCAA Championships, which tee off in Wilmington, N.C., on May 18.
Six Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 16 nationally, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 USC, No. 8 UA, No. 15 Stanford and No. 16 Cal.
The Sun Devils entered the Pac-10 tournament last season on a similar note, dropping a late lead in its home tournament, the PING/ASU Invitational.
Luellen is hopeful the squad will be able to transform the experience into a positive as the squad aims to defend its 2009 national title.
Last week’s comeback by UCLA at the PING/ASU Invitational that saw the Bruins battle back from a 12-stroke deficit in the final round to claim the title can also be use as a learning tool, the coach said.
“It’s a great lesson for us to take,” Luellen said. “We could be in the same position and turn around and win. Every shot counts. It’s good for them to feel the pressure. We didn’t win our [home] tournament last year, so maybe it’s meant to be that way. We’re going to learn from it.”
The Sun Devil lineup features a number of players with a shot at the individual crown this week. Ciganda, who won the event last season, has finished in the top 10 five times this season.
Freshman Jennifer Johnson struggled down the stretch at Karsten last week, but with five top-10 finishes to her credit in her rookie season, Johnson has proven herself as one of the elite golfers in the conference.
Also in the lineup will be senior Juliana Murcia, who has four top-10 finishes this season, junior Jaclyn Sweeney (three top-10 showings) and sophomore Giulia Molinaro (two top-10 finishes).
ASU’s eight Pac-10 titles is more than any other team in the conference.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
