University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Women's Golfers Close Out East Regional In 16th Place
May 11, 2002 | Women's Golf
May 11, 2002
BATON ROUGE, LA - The University of North Carolina Women's golf team fell from a 13th place tie to finish 16th in the final round of competition at the 2002 East Regionals. The performance of Ashley Prange was the bright spot for the UNC team considering she shot a third round of 76 for a 222 tournament total which landed the Sophomore in a tie for 27th and twelve strokes off the lead. Senior Beth Lever also shot a 76 in the final round which left her tied for 45th for a 225 total. The remaining UNC golfers playing in the regional which included Meghan Adams, Abby Spector and Romi Irons finished the third round with totals of 233, 239 and 244, respectively.
Duke University took top team honors in the East Regional by scoring a 54 hole total of five-under-par, 859. The Blue Devils were lead by the regionals' individual scoring champion, Leigh Anne Hardin. Hardin completed her third round at even par for a six-under-par, 210 total. Auburn University followed in second place in team standings with an eight-over-par, 872 while Atlantic Coast Conference representative Wake Forest finished the Regional in third place at 875. Rounding out the top five were the University of Florida at 878 followed by the Bulls of South Florida at 889.
Following Duke's Hardin in second place in individual scoring was Auburn's Celeste Troche at five-under-par, 211. Meredith Duncan of Lousiana State and Courtney Swaim of Auburn tied for third at 213. Rounding out the top five in individual scoring were Jameica Duncombe of South Florida and Meghan Francella of Memphis at 215.
The 54-hole event was played at LSU's University Club whch features a par 72, 6,276-yard layout. The top eight teams and top two individuals not on those eight teams advance on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 21-24 at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Washington.
The two advancing individual spots for the NCAA Division 1 National Championship from the East Regional have been decided with LSU's Meredith Duncan going after tying for third at three-under-par, 213. The final spot belongs to Meaghan Francella of Memphis who finished at one-under-par, 215.
TEAM STANDINGS (#54 Holes) 1. Duke 291-280-288-859 2. Auburn 287-293-292-872 3. Wake Forest 293-288-294-875 4. Florida 286-290-302-878 5. South Florida 289-296-298-883 6. South Carolina 298-293-298-889 7. Georgia 300-295-297-892 8. Vanderbilt 296-296-301-893 9. Tulane 300-295-299-894 10. Tennessee 303-306-287-896 11. Memphis 299-297-301-897 12. LSU 297-300-301-898 13. Furman 298-298-308-903 14. N. C. State 303-303-301-907 15. Central Florida 305-304-303-912 16. North Carolina 294-311-311-916 17. Mississippi State 307-302-308-917 18. Texas A&M 306-299-313-918 19. Alabama 308-312-304-924 20. Yale 316-324-327-967 21. Jackson State 335-32--331-986TOP INDIVIDUALS (#54 Holes) 1. Leigh Ann Hardin (Duke) 71-67-72-210 2. Celeste Troche (Auburn) 69-70-72-211 3. Meredith Duncan (LSU) 68-72-73-213 Courney Swaim (Auburn) 70-72-71-213 5. Jameica Duncombe (South Florida) 68-72-75-215 Meaghan Francella (Memphis) 70-71-74-215
Carolina's Individuals T27 Ashley Prange 73-73-76-222 T45 Beth Lever 68-81-76-225 T75 Meghan Adams 76-77-80-233 T89 Abby Spector 77-83-79-239 T97 Romi Irons 82-80-82-244
![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
