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NCAA MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 2, 2015Bobby CojuangcoEric SugimotoChris ZambriBRADENTON, FLORIDA THE MODERATOR: We're joined by student‑athletes from Southern California. We've got Bobby Gojuangco with us and Eric Sugimoto. We'll do just a quick opening statement from each of you and talk about playing for the national championship tomorrow. Bobby, we'll go to you first. BOBBY GOJUANGCO: It's a really exciting opportunity. I definitely thought we could get here from the beginning of the season. I didn't know what to expect over the summer, but in the fall there were lots of flashes of brilliance from especially our freshmen, and I think we have five really good players. We had a lot of really good players. It was a really competitive team. THE MODERATOR: Eric, what about you? ERIC SUGIMOTO: This is something we all dreamed about, making a reality. We had an up‑and‑down season, but the talent was there, like Bobby said, the flashes of brilliance were just everywhere, everywhere you looked, and our team is really deep, and we've got a lot of great players. I think just talking about it and thinking about it got us here. Q. Eric, what was tougher, beating No.2 Texas or beating No.4 Illinois? ERIC SUGIMOTO: I think, you know, it's the same. It's match play. They're both great teams with great players. I think it's tough to compare. They all have different strengths and different weaknesses, and every single player is solid. Just depends on who's playing well that day, I guess. Q. Eric, you and Rico I think were the only two who were in championships last year. Did you two have to do anything with the inexperienced team here to kind of set an example or lead or anything? ERIC SUGIMOTO: No, no, not at all. I think we let our games speak for themselves. Rico and I obviously had a chip on our shoulder finishing last last year. I think Coach does, too. It was pretty embarrassing. This means a way for us to get some redemption, for the new guys to get some experience, also a very important one. I think we all value it very heavily. Q. Coach, talk about the emotions of a long, exhausting, roller coaster day. CHRIS ZAMBRI: Oh, man. You know, I think it's one of those things that if this was my third or fourth go‑around in match play that it's something I'd be more comfortable with. But I had a great day with Bobby. We were together both matches. He was making it easy on me because he hits it really straight and doesn't get into much trouble. But you know, for us it's high pressure because we care. We want to win so badly, and this is our lives. This is our life, I should say. We're just dealing with it. Q. Coach, this is arguably one of the best single‑day clashes we've seen since this has moved to match play. How do you explain how you were able to sustain that level of play over 12 hours? CHRIS ZAMBRI: I don't know, they're just good players. They're good players playing well, and so I don't know if it goes much deeper than that. You know, rankings‑wise, it might not appear that way. If you look at our team ranking, if you look at the individual rankings of our players, but everybody has shown signs of being excellent. Some guys have shown signs more often than others. But I'm not one bit surprised with the way Bobby is playing or Eric. They're just playing phenomenal golf. They work really hard, and I think we've found a place that really fits us. Q. Coach, on the back nine things kind of turned for you. That was right around the time Rico had the eagle. In match play does momentum kind of factor in with the team a little bit more? CHRIS ZAMBRI: You know, I think it's really hard for anybody to know what anybody else is doing out there. I bet it did something for Rico. I can tell you that. But I wouldn't guess that‑‑ I know Sean didn't even know he holed it until after his match was over. I think it's a big deal within a match, but maybe not so much overall as a group. Q. Coach, how did you leave the NCAAs last year feeling about your team, your program? CHRIS ZAMBRI: Not good. You know, we just came upon‑‑ I talked a lot about courses that fit us. I've said that a lot this week, and last year's course just didn't fit what we had there. You really had to keep it in play, and if not you were in bushes, and we were in every bush out there. I mean, I'm telling you, it was something else. We needed a Sherpa. But yeah, we felt awful. We felt awful. We were embarrassed for sure. On the flipside, we were glad we got there. I'd rather go and finish last than not go, and that's something that we're proud of. I think we have the second‑ or third‑longest streak of going to the finals now behind UCLA. I think we're tied with Texas or I'm not sure how it goes. So we're proud that we got there, but yeah, we got our faces kicked in, and that stunk. That really stunk. Q. Did you think you could be back the next year and be in a position like this so quickly? CHRIS ZAMBRI: I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. You know, this guy right here has been a huge shot in the arm for us. Last year Bobby transferred in at the beginning of the year and didn't really play much in the lineup, especially in the second semester, but he just worked his tail off. He's an inspiration, should be an inspiration to every kid on our team who's not in the lineup because he works hard and he's smart and he's diligent. Eric came in last year and showed some signs. He showed signs, you know, four out of seven days a week. He played a great Pac‑12 for us last year. He's plays tons of great golf. But this is the kind of golf that I have always felt like he could play from the day he came to play for us. So I'm not surprised that we're back here. But regardless of how good you are, as today shows, it's hard to get to this spot. I didn't know how many wins those teams had, but it's just really hard. Those guys had amazing years, better years than we did, and it can turn in 15 minutes out there. Q. Coach, you saw your women's team have a lot of success, national championships in your tenure. Can you talk about the high pressure of the situation? Talk about the big, huge opportunity of tomorrow. CHRIS ZAMBRI: You know, I have no idea‑‑ I should know this. I don't know how many years we've had a golf team. I think I heard today that we've been to the finals like 57 times or whatever and never won. It would just be monumental for us because it doesn't make sense to me that we haven't won. We've spit out major‑championship winners, we've won our conference 19 times. I think there were some years where they were always contending, and they just didn't get it done, unfortunately. I certainly didn't even sniff getting it done when I was there. Those are the darkest years. But yeah, it would be huge. It would be huge. The program is in good shape, but this would be a real big shot in the arm. Q. We saw seven days ago with the women two teams that maybe people at home didn't really expect to be in that position in the championship match. What do you think it says about college golf that we have USC and LSU in the championship match tomorrow? CHRIS ZAMBRI: I think it speaks to the fact that our championship is incredibly difficult to win, and a lot can‑‑ match play is over‑the‑top exciting. There's always been debate on the pros and the cons. It seems like it's here to stay, which‑‑ and I've been on both sides, but it's just so fun and riveting that this is how it's going to be, and it's going to make for a tumultuous championship, which is a good thing. It's more interesting. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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