University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Championships Day 1
Tar Heels Begin ACC Title Chase Saturday in Greensboro
April 20, 2018 | Women's Golf
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The University of North Carolina women's golf team heads to the 30th ACC Women's Golf Championships game this weekend seeking the program's third title. The tournament will be held at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center's East Course from Saturday-Monday (April 21-23).
The Tar Heels are the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championships and will be paired with No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Wake Forest in the first round Saturday, teeing off from hole #1 beginning at 9:50 a.m.
The 54-hole tournament will play host to the 12 ACC teams, five of which are ranked in the Golfstat Top 30.
Carolina is coming off of a third-place (tied) finish at the Bryan National Collegiate in the final tournament of the regular season, it's highest finish at the Bryan since 2011. The Tar Heels finished ahead of seven other teams ranked in the Golfstat Top 50 and the finish gave the Tar
Heels their fifth top-five finish of the season, the program's most since 2011-12.
HOW TO FOLLOW
For fans attending the ACC Championship, admission is free and the course is open to the public.
A portion of the final two rounds will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra with veteran play-by-play announcer Dean Linke on the call and legendary Tar Heel golfer Donna Andrews as the analyst. Round two will be streamed from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday and Monday's final round will be streamed from 1-3:30 p.m.
Saturday Stream (2-4 p.m.) – http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3356727/acc-womens-golf-championship
Sunday Stream (1-3:30 p.m.) – http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3356729/acc-womens-golf-championship
Fans can follow @uncwomensgolf on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the tournament. UNC Women's Golf is also on Facebook. A recap and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.
THE FIELD
No. 1 Duke (5), No. 2 Wake Forest (19), No. 3 North Carolina (21), No. 4. Miami (27), No. 5 Louisville (29), No. 6 Virginia, No. 7 N.C. State, No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 11 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Boston College
TAR HEEL STARTING FIVE
Carolina's starting five for the ACC Championship will be junior Kelly Whaley (Farmington, Conn.), senior Bryana Nguyen (Columbia, Md.), freshman Ava Bergner (Ketsch, Germany), sophomore Mariana Ocano (St. Petersburg, Fla.), and sophomore Brynn Walker (St. David's, Pa.). Nguyen is playing in her fourth ACC Championship, Whaley is playing in her third, Walker is playing in her second and Ocano and Berger are both making their first appearances in the conference's championship tournament.
THE TOURNAMENT VENUE
The ACC Championship will be played at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center East Course in Greensboro, N.C. The course has a par-72, 6,122-yard set-up. The Championship is making its fourth appearance on the East Course, having previously contested there in 1996, 1998 and 1999.Â
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
The ACC Championship is a 54-hole tournament with rounds scheduled for Saturday, April 21 (9 a.m.), Sunday, April 22 (9 a.m.) and Monday, April 23 (8:30 a.m.). The Tar Heels will tee off round one beginning at 9:50 a.m. from hole #1 with top seeds Duke and Wake Forest.
LIVE SCORING
Live results from the ACC Championship will be available at Golfstat.com.
HEAD COACH JAN MANN - COMMENTS
On her approach to postseason competition
"One of our philosophies is that we work hard every day, we give 100 percent every day and we let winning take care of itself. With that attitude, it is a progression, it is a journey of getting better each and every day. We just keep chipping away at things, and fortunately they do get better as the postseason rolls along."
On how you get each golfer to play their best golf so you can win in the postseason
"The ACC is a very, very strong conference in women's golf. So, it is challenging each year, but one of the things that we talk about is we can't make this event or the postseason any different than the regular season events. We are going to play 18 holes each day on a golf course. The cup size doesn't change. Yes, the courses themselves change, but it is a golf course and you go out and you are playing the course each and every day. You are not worried about the final outcome. We understand that to put forth the best effort, mentally they have to not put added pressure on themselves."
On if the regular-season success met pre-season expectations
"We have a very, very talented team. I think that the five players that we have been playing have the capability of going low, and that's what it takes. We have had success, and with success you keep gaining more and more confidence. I feel like they are going into the postseason with a good amount of confidence. They have played the top teams in the country. They're not afraid to play with anybody. They're not intimidated by any means. They know that they can compete against anyone."
SEASON RECAP
• The Tar Heels are the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship and will be paired with No.1 Duke and No. 2 Wake Forest in the first round beginning at 9:50 a.m. from hole #1.
• Jan Mann is in her ninth year as head coach and Aimee Neff is in her first year as associate head coach. Neff joined the program after one year as an assistant at Vanderbilt and three years at Michigan State.
• UNC has finished in the top five in five of nine events this year, including the last three tournaments. That is the highest total since 2011-12 when the Tar Heels finished 10th at the NCAA Championships.
• The Tar Heels have finished in the top seven in all but two tournaments.
• Carolina won one tournament this season - the Briar's Creek Invitational (March 19-20). The win was the 45th in program history. The Tar Heels set a new Briar's Creek tournament record for lowest tournament total (848), and the score is the second-lowest in UNC history.Â
• Carolina is one of seven ACC teams to win a tournament this season.
• Kelly Whaley shot 12-under-par 204 to win Briar's Creek and break her own school records for 54-hole tournament score and score vs. par.
• The Tar Heels have shot two of the five lowest 54-hole tournament scores in school history this season - 16-under-par 848 at the Briar's Creek Invitational and 8-under-par 856 at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational.
• Kelly Whaley, Bryana Nguyen, Ava Bergner and Brynn Walker have played in the Tar Heel lineup in all nine tournaments, and Mariana Ocano has appeared in the lineup in the final eight tournaments.
• Three different Tar Heels have finished in the top 10 of tournaments - Ava Bergner (twice), Kelly Whaley (twice) and Bryana Nguyen.
• UNC is ranked No. 21 in the country by Golfstat and No. 25 by Golfweek. The Tar Heels are third-highest ranked team in the ACC behind Duke (5/5) and Wake Forest (19/15).
• The Tar Heels finished just one stroke shy of qualifying for match play at the 2017 NCAA Championship, claiming ninth, the team's highest finish at the Championship since 2011.
RANKINGS
Golfstat: UNC (21), Kelly Whaley (85), Ava Bergner (137), Brynn Walker (186), Bryana Nguyen (215)
Golfweek: UNC (25), Whaley (68), Bergner (117), Walker (197), Nguyen (227), Ocano (382)
SINGLE-SEASON STROKE AVERAGES
• Whaley leads the team at 73.22, which is on pace to break the school record set by Casey Grice in 2012-13 of 73.27.
• Whaley and Bergner are both on track to finish the season with stroke averages in the top 10 in Carolina history.
• Bergner finished the fall with the lowest fall stroke average in school history at 72.08.
CAROLINA IN THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIPÂ
• Carolina has won two ACC Championships (third most behind Duke's 20 and Wake Forest's 5).
• UNC's titles came in 1992 and 2011.
• The 2011 title came in Jan Mann's second year as head coach.
• The Tar Heels finished fourth at in the 2017 Championship.
• Tar Heels have won ACC individual championships two times - Debbie Doniger in 1992 and Meaghan Francella in 2003.
• Bryana Nguyen finished tied for eighth in the 2017 Championship and she has shot a 68 twice (2015 – Rd. 3; 2017 – Rd. 1) in the tournament, matching her career low round.
Bryana Nguyen (Senior, Columbia Md.)
Ranked No. 215 Golfstat/No. 227 Golfweek • Previous ACC Championship finishes (2017 – T8th, E; 2016 – T41, +14; 2015 – T11, -1) • Has started in Carolina's lineup in every event in her career except for one as a junior • Season stroke average of 74.74 • Has two top-five and three top-10 finishes in her career • Has shot a career-low 68 four times during her career, including twice this season • Finished fifth at the Briar's Creek Invitational at -3 • Was the low finisher for Carolina in the Battle at the Beach • Finished second at the Bryan National Collegiate as a junior, shooting the fifth-lowest tournament score to par in UNC history (-7, 209) • Has two top-11 finishes in the ACC Championships, with her highest finish coming as a junior when she finished tied for eighth • Co-president of the UNC Student-Athlete Advisory Council • Was named the 2017-18 Tar Heel Leader of Distinction on April 16 • Earned Academic All-ACC honors as a junior.
Kelly Whaley (Junior, Farmington, Conn.)
Ranked No. 85 Golfstat/No. 68 Golfweek • Previous ACC Championship finishes (2017 – 48, +17; 2016 – T10, +3) • Has started for Carolina in every tournament in her career • Leads the team in stroke average (73.22), rounds under par (7) and rounds in the 60s (4) • On pace to set the school record for season stroke average • Has the two lowest tournament scores in school history – breaking her own record this season to win the Briar's Creek Invitational at -12, 204 • First Tar Heel ever to shoot all three rounds in the 60s for a tournament at the Briar's Creek Invitational (68-67-69) • Has shot in the 60s four out of the last six rounds, and under par in five out of the last eight • Had five top-15 finishes on the year, including top-five finishes in the last two tournaments • Was the low-finishing Tar Heel in four of the five spring tournaments • Daughter of Suzy McGuire Whaley, former Tar Heel and the first woman ever elected as an Officer of the PGA of America - currently Vice President and will become president later this year • Mom was the first woman to qualify for a PGA tour event in 58 years.
Mariana Ocano (Sophomore, St. Petersburg, Fla.)
No. 382 Golfweek • First ACC Championship • Season stroke average of 75.89 • Has started for the Tar Heels in all but the first tournament • Was the low-finisher for the Tar Heels in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (T11, +6) • Shot a career-low 70 in the third round of the Darius Rucker • Has three rounds under par this season • Was a 2017 WGCA All-America Scholar.
Brynn Walker (Sophomore, St. David's, Pa.)
Ranked No. 186 Golfstat/No. 197 Golfweek • Previous ACC Championship finish (2017 - 27, +6) • Has started in every tournament as a Tar Heel • Season stroke average of 74.52 - third on the team • Has five rounds under par on the year • Has three top-20 finishes on the year • Was a 2017 WGCA All-America Scholar.
Ava Bergner (Freshman, Ketsch, Germany)
Rankings: No. 137 Golfstat/No. 117 Golfweek • First ACC Championship • Second on the team in stroke average at 73.81 • Wrapped up the fall with the lowest stroke average in UNC history (72.08) • On pace to finish with one of the 10-best stroke averages in UNC history and the second best for a freshman • Was the low finisher for Carolina in the first three tournaments of the year • Tied Kelly Whaley's UNC record for lowest round (66) in the final round of the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational to finish T3 • Also finished the Tar Heel with the lowest score ever for a UNC player in the tournament (-10, 206) - the second-best score all time at UNC • Leads the team in par rounds (7) and is tied with Whaley for rounds under par (7) • Member of the German National Golf Team.
HEAD COACH JAN MANN (9th year)
Mann is in her ninth year as head coach at Carolina • She took over the program in 2009 • The Tar Heels have captured seven tournament titles and five individual championships in her nine years, including the 2011 ACC Championship - the program's second and first since 1992 • Carolina has finished in the three at the ACC Championship three times under Mann • Carolina has been selected for an NCAA regional in each of her Mann's nine years, moving on to the NCAA Championship in four seasons • Last season, Mann led the Tar Heels to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championship in 2017 – only one shot out of match play • Mann was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2011 - she was also selected in 2005 as the head coach of UVA • Before coming to Carolina, Mann established the women's golf program at UVA as the head coach from 2002-07 and coached at UNCW from 1994-2002 • Mann is the fifth women's golf coach in UNC history.
Players Mentioned
