PRIZE RECRUIT BORN OF UCLA COACH'S EFFORTS.

Byline: JILL PAINTER

GOLF

UCLA women's golf coach Carrie Forsyth had never met Colombian Maria Jose Uribe, so she wanted to make a good impression during Uribe's recruiting visit last year.

But Forsyth was twoweeks away from delivering twins, so she wasn't sure she could give Uribe the royal treatment.

Forsyth mustered the energy to hang with Uribe and the rest of her team as much as possible. She spent the weekend in an uncomfortable state last summer as she walked around and hopped in and out of a car, all while battling fatigue.

"I was a real trooper, I have to admit," Forsyth said. "I had a smaller role with her than with a lot of other recruits because of my condition. I was huge. I was just huge. But the girls on our team did a fantastic job expressing what our program is like and what it's about and promoting the program."

Forsyth's determination won over Uribe. She signed with the Bruins and when she arrives on campus in three weeks, she'll bring a ton of passion, expectation and the U.S. Women's Amateur trophy. Uribe won the prestigious tournament 1-up over Duke's Amanda Blumenherst on Sunday at Crooked Stick in Indiana.

Not bad for a 17-year-old from a country that isn't big on golf.

Who knows what might have happened if Forsyth hadn't gutted it out?

Now Forsyth is celebrating her prized recruit, who was relatively unknown a year ago. Forsyth had friends who knew Uribe when the teenager was playing at the Heritage Academy in South Carolina.

She developed a relationship with Uribe early, and now she has one of the best young prospects -- one who has a feisty, made-for-TV personality to go with a solid game.

"Maria's a great girl, I've known that since the day I started recruiting her," Forsyth said. "People who knew her before I did told me so many good things about her. We're so fortunate she's going to be part of the program. Her attitude is infectious. Her love of the game and fire and spirit are infectious. You want to support someone who's showing how much they love the game every time they start swinging the club."

Uribe obviously loved Forsyth's attitude. As Forsyth drove Uribe and her players around on that recruiting visit, she'd stop her car as close to the building's entrance as she could, then have one of the athletes park the car to avoid excess walking. Normally, Forsyth is happy to go on shopping excursions, but this time, she went back to campus and took a nap while the players shopped.

Forsyth met up with Uribe for dinner after that. She couldn't give the usual campus tour, either, but her team took care of that.

Forsyth's assistant, Alicia Um, did most of the recruiting with Uribe -- which started when she was 16 -- and saw her at tournaments. Forsyth built a relationship with Uribe over the phone.

But it's been difficult for Forsyth to connect with Uribe's Colombian phone number when Uribe's in the United States. Forsyth went to Indiana and was there for Uribe's stroke-play rounds and her first round of match play last Wednesday. Then she e-mailed Uribe the night before the final, reminding her to stay hydrated and have fun.

"I talked to her (Saturday), and I was still like, UCLA again," Uribe said after her victory. "I don't know. She's like -- I love her. And I just talked to (UCLA golfer) Tiffany Joh. I just want to be there now."

Uribe can't get to Westwood fast enough. She will bring the amateur trophy to display in the UCLA Hall of Fame, though not until her home country has had the chance to show it off for a while.

Uribe is a lot like Sergio Garcia was when he was a high-kicking teenager. She's loaded with charisma and contorts her body when hoping for a putt to drop. She yells at her golf ball in Spanish (she'll yell "para," which means stop) but speaks fluent English. She shows her pleasure with aggressive fist pumping and displeasure via twirling clubs, dirty looks and grunts of disgust.

Blumenherst's family -- decked out in matching green shirts like hers -- was a boisterous fan club at the U.S. Amateur, and even though Uribe's family couldn't be there, she found her own fan club: Crooked Stick's ground and maintenance crew members -- wearing matching orange shirts -- were proud to be in her corner.

How could you not like Uribe?

She's already become fast friends with Joh, another outspoken golfer who's fun and says whatever she feels. Joh, who won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links last year, also played last week with Uribe. Joh also went to Colombia this summer and won a tournament there.

Uribe is apparently a good salsa dancer, too, and tried to teach Joh some of those dance moves.

Who knows how many people watched the tournament, since it was on the same day Tiger Woods captured his 13th career major at the PGA Championship. This match was definitely more exciting. Neither Blumenherst, a two-time NCAA player of the year, nor Uribe was ever more than 1-up.

The Bruins are certainly 1-up in the recruiting game.

"I'm not the kind of player that thinks that I'm in the U.S. Open or I need to make this and stuff like that," Uribe said of playing under pressure. "I just played like if I was on my course with my friends. I know that's the strongest part of my game."

Don't forget that feisty approach, one she shares with her new coach.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Maria Jose Uribe, who will be a freshman at UCLA this fall, won the U.S. Women's Amateur Golf title last weekend.

Matt Kryger/Associated Press

(2) FORSYTH

Box:

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