UA women ranked
2nd, men fall in Houston

Teams appear headed in opposite directions

By Ryan Finley
GolfArizona.com Staff Writer

The men, on the other hand, have not faired as well early in the 1999 season. The Wildcats, led by coach Rick LaRose, finished last out of 15 teams in the Taylor Made Red River Classic at the Dallas Athletic Club on Columbus Day.

First for the good news. The Wildcats stood pat as the second-ranked team in the Mastercard Collegiate Golf Rankings, which came out October 6.

Second-year coach Todd McCorkel’s team has their fair share of individual achievements so far this year.

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However, the UA women are not a one-(wo)man show. Sophomore Cristina Baena is 11th in the country, while senior Jill Gomric is ranked 18th. Four Pacific-10 conference golfers are ranked in the top ten nationally. The women’s team appears to be in good shape.

The men are struggling, period. A last-place finish at the Taylor Made Red River Invitational in Dallas, Tex., saw the Wildcats shoot a four-under-par 860. In the first two rounds, UA blew any chance of competing. A third round score of 278 helped to salvage an otherwise disappointing tournament.

Ricky Barnes finished the best of any Wildcat, coming in 26th with 69, 73, 69 scores in the three-round tournament. Barnes was not helped by any of his teammates on the weekend, however. Derek Gillespie finished 39th , Scott Moore finished 49th, and Cody Beyer was 77th.

The men will attempt to right themselves Friday as they travel to northern California for the Fresno Classic.

The women, however, will have a two-week break, returning to action October 23-25 at the Stanford Pepsi Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.