BERKELEY – No. 15-ranked California is poised to put its first postseason exclamation point on a successful year in celebration of the program's 20th anniversary when the Golden Bears host the 2016 Pac-12 Championships Monday-Wednesday, April 18-20, at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, Calif.
As the Bears prepare to compete for the third conference title in program history at the three-day, 54-hole, par-72 event, CalBears.com caught up with head coach Nancy McDaniel for a Q&A.
McDaniel, approaching the homestretch of her 21st season at the helm this year, hopes her Bears can add to the eight appearances at the NCAA Championships and 16 consecutive NCAA regional berths in team history. Cal is focused first on successfully hosting the conference championships, an event she wants her student-athletes to approach as “just another tournament, although they know it's not.”
CalBears.com: You've been part of this program at the intercollegiate level since before Day One. As the team prepares to host the 2016 Pac-12 Women's Golf Championships to continue its 20th anniversary, is this a “pinch me” moment or has it been something you've seen approaching incrementally?
Nancy McDaniel: It's been more of an incremental climb to this point, but it has crept up on me. Twenty years is a long time. When I saw some of the women who were here when we started this program at a banquet we held earlier this month, they couldn't believe it has been 20 years either. It's a day-to-day culture that you hope will continue to grow each year.
CB: What added pressures are there on the players when it comes to hosting the 2016 Pac-12 Women's Golf Championships?
NM: We're approaching it as just another tournament, although they know it's not. It's their home course and they take such pride in who they are – they want to show well for Cal. That's what these players are all about. You have to strike a balance and keep it really relaxed going into it. Keep working on the regular things and go into it like any other practice round. But it's a Pac-12 championship that we need to be prepared for it at the highest level.
CB: How have things changed and how have they remained the same over your tenure?
NM: Women's golf has come so far in 20 years, from what we were wearing, to what we were eating, to how we were working out. Everyone was doing their best in each time period, but each stage pushed women's golf a little further to get to where we are today. Now, you're seeing amazing scores and so many Pac-12 players go out on Tour. One thing that hasn't changed is the Pac-12 having seven teams in the Top 15.
CB: What comparisons can you make among Cal's conference champions of 2003 and 2012, the 2005 team that last hosted the conference championships, and this year's team?
NM: The 2005 team that we took to Pac-10s as the host at Ruby Hill ending up finishing 5th that year at nationals. That was a very good team and around the same ranking as this team. But it's so difficult to compare. You go in optimistic that you could get off on the right foot and match one of those teams. I would also say that the last time we won the conference, in 2012, we didn't necessarily go in as someone to be reckoned with. We just played solid. It's a super-fun event because so many teams are so close. It's that time of year when you want your team to perform and there are so many subtleties that can help you get through to nationals.
CB: Hoping, of course, for Cal's success, are you looking forward to seeing the one-hour show that will air at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks April 27 to recap the tournament?
NM: It's a wonderful showcase for Cal and the support that we have from our area courses, both at Ruby Hill and around Northern California. It will be great.
CB: What are you most proud of, the fiscal responsibility of the program, the well-roundedness of the student-athletes on the course and in the classroom, the post-collegiate success they have, or something else?
NM: I would absolutely say that number one is the balance of the student-athletes, both learned and experienced, while they're at Cal. It's a life balance. They put their hearts and souls into something they really believe in, something that's bigger than themselves. To have each and every one leave with a feeling that there is something bigger out there in life is invaluable. They have that balance and they will need it in every facet going forward.
