University of North Carolina Athletics
Women's Golf Hosts 17 Teams In Franklin Trust Tar Heel Invitational
October 4, 2000 | Women's Golf
Oct. 4, 2000
Chapel Hill, N.C. - North Carolina's women's golf team will play host to 17 teams in this year's Franklin Street Trust Tar Heel Invitational which will take place October 6-8 at Finley Golf Course, a par 72, 6,181-yard layout. The 54-hole event will follow a format of 18 holes played each day. Tee times will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday off both the #1 and #10 tees and there will be a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. The public is invited to attend and there is no admission fee.
This year's tournament will feature three of the top 10 teams and four of the top 20 teams in the latest Mastercard Collegiate Golf Rankings. Duke is ranked second in the country while Tennessee is ranked fourth, Wake Forest is ranked sixth and Georgia is 13th.
Individually, there are nine players ranked in the top 25 in the latest Mastercard Collegiate Rankings. Marta Prieto of Wake Forest is ranked fourth, Young-A Yang of Tennessee is ranked sixth, Virada Nirapathpongporn of Duke is ninth, Maria Beautell of Wake Forest is 11th, Leigh Anne Hardin of Duke is 15th, Kristina Engstrom of Duke is 17th, Brittany Straza of Florida is 21st, Candy Hannemann of Duke is 22nd and Kalen Anderson of Duke is 23rd.
In addition to Carolina, the other participating teams include Duke, Florida, Florida State, Furman, Georgia, Kentucky, Memphis, N.C. State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Tulane, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. Duke won last year's Tar Heel which was played at the Governor's Club posting an 891 total while Tennessee was the runner-up. Auburn's Danielle Downey was the individual champion with a two-over-par 218 total.
Carolina opened its fall campaign with an eighth-place finish at the Dodge ACC/SEC Invitational in San Destin, Fla. The Tar Heels fired a 944 total. Freshman Ashley Prange led the Tar Heels with a 226 total and a sixth-place finish individually. Junior Heather Angell tied for 19th place with a 234 total while junior Shelley McKevitt tied for 38th at 243, sophomore Abby Spector finished 42nd at 246 and junior Beth Lever tied for 43rd place with a 248 total.
North Carolina and Finley Golf Course will also serve host to the NCAA East Regional next May 10-12.
Franklin Street Trust Tar Heel Invitational Champions
| Year | Holes | Team Champion (Score) | Individual Medalist (Score) |
| 1976 | 18 | North Carolina (354) | Mindy Moore, North Carolina (82) |
| 1977 | 36 | Furman (620) | Beth Daniel, Furman (145) |
| 1978 | 36 | Ohio State (630) | Judy Ellis, Ohio State (150) |
| 1979 | 54 | North Carolina (961) | Nancy Rubin, Florida International (225) |
| 1980 | 54 | Georgia (912) | Mitzi Edge, Georgia (222) |
| 1981 | 54 | Georgia (874) | Cindy Pleger, Georgia (212) |
| 1982 | 54 | Ohio State (930) | Susan Ladd, Alabama (222) |
| 1983 | 36 | Kentucky (612) | Mary Ann Widman, Duke (146) |
| 1984 | 54 | Georgia (894) | Michelle Berteotti, Miami, Fla. (218) |
| 1985 | 54 | North Carolina (903) | Michelle Michanowicz, Miami, Fla. (220) |
| 1986 | 54 | Miami, Fla. (899) | Sarah LeBrun, Duke (219) |
| 1987 | 54 | Texas (895) | Kate Golden, Texas (219) |
| 1988 | 54 | Duke (902) | Christine Casingal, Duke (215) |
| 1989 | 54 | Kentucky (919) | Laura D'Alessandro, Wake Forest (224) |
| 1990 | 54 | Texas (901) | Piper Wagner, Texas (217) |
| 1991 | 54 | North Carolina (895) | Renee Heiken, Illinois (214) |
| 1992 | 54 | North Carolina (897) | Kimberly Byham, North Carolina (217) |
| 1993 | 54 | Wake Forest (915) | Stephanie Neill, Wake Forest (220) |
| 1994 | 54 | Wake Forest (889) | Kelly Cap, Methodist College (219) |
| 1995 | 54 | Wake Forest (877) | Marci Clemons, Auburn (215) |
| 1996 | 54 | Tennessee (908) | Kelly McCall, North Carolina (211) |
| 1997 | 54 | Duke (884) | Jenny Chuasiriporn, Duke (211) |
| 1998 | 54 | Duke (854) | Candy Hannemann, Duke (212) |
| 1999 | 54 | Duke (891) | Danielle Downey, Auburn (218) |
![Images from the first round of the 2026 Gators Invitational on Friday, March 6, 2026 at Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. [Photo by Matt Pendleton Photography for North Carolina Tar Heels Athletics]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Func.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F3%2F7%2F260306-NCAAWGOLF-UNC-GatorsInvitational-0828-MattPendleton_copy.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
