Staying constantly competitive in the Pac-12 is no easy task for any of its women's golf teams because of the immense amount of talent in the conference.
Going into the spring season, five teams belonging to the Pac-12 are ranked in the top 25.
Washington sits atop the standings while USC is No. 3, UA and ASU stand back-to-back at No. 7 and 8, respectively. Stanford rounds out the top 25 for the conference at No. 22.
The need to stay competitive requires schools to extend their recruiting trips to an international level, and the ASU women's golf team has managed to do a solid job at it.
Five of the six spots on the team are filled by athletes coming from outside of the country: Sophomore Emilie Alonso (France), sophomore Noemi Jimenez (Spain), junior Laura Blanco, junior Daniela Ordonez (Colombia) and junior Jusitine Lee (Australia). That leaves junior Nicole Jones as the only American on the roster.
The team will have one more international player coming in the near future with freshman Gauri Monga making her way from India.
Laura Blanco said the team is much closer, because so many of their families are far away that the teammates turn to each other for comfort.
"The team bond is very good," Blanco said. "A lot of us are playing international. We try to help each other out."
A healthy team is a happy team
The ASU women's golf team struggled with many injuries throughout the fall season. Two of the team's top players were battling against physical ailments that can doom any golfer.
The Sun Devils team were still able to maintain a spot at No. 8 ranking in the NCAA national rankings. With Lee, who carries the lowest career scoring average with a 74.84, coming back from a wrist injury and Ordonez, who carries a 75.71, beginning to manage her back pain more effectively, the team can only benefit.
The team will go up against Washington, USC and UA in their next tournament, the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, on Feb. 11 in Palos Verdes, Calif. If the Sun Devils put a up good showing at the tournament, they will be able to start their ascent in the standings toward reaching their goal of attaining a national championship at the end of the season.
Reach the reporter at adrain.martinez@asu.edu
