University of North Carolina Athletics
Learning More About UNC's ACC Championship Golfers
April 29, 2003 | Women's Golf
April 29, 2003
By Stacy Scarazzo and Kate Barnhill
Carolina juniors Richard Treis and Meaghan Francella both won the individual races of their respective ACC tournaments this spring.
The ACC men's tournament was played at the par-72 Old North State course in New London, N.C., on April 18-20. The women simultaneously played at Salem Glen Country Club, a par-71 course, in Clemmons, N.C.
Treis, from Baden-Baden, Germany, came from behind to win, after being four shots behind going into the final round. He posted rounds of 72, 69 and 70 for a five-under-par total 211, beating Wake Forest's Bill Haas by two strokes.
Francella, from Port Chester, N.Y., also came from behind as she carded a 77 for the rainy, cold first round. For the win, she played the second two rounds each at 69 for a total two-over 215 and a one-stroke victory over Duke's Elizabeth Janangelo.
TarHeelBlue sat down with Treis and Francella to learn a little about each champion.
TarHeelBlue: Meaghan, your first round was not as good as the second two. What changed for you?
Meaghan Francella: The first day the weather was really bad. People's umbrellas were flipping out. The low score was 74. The second day it was not raining and not 40 degrees.
Richard Treis: It was the same day. Supposedly it was worse for the women's tournament. We were a half hour from Asheboro and it was raining as well. It was pretty cold.
THB: Is this the biggest victory of the season? How did you guys feel?
MF: I called (Richard) up and he called me back and we just couldn't believe it. It hadn't quite sunk in yet.
THB: What do you think won the ACC for you? What part of your game was on?
RT: The last day I was putting really well. I put myself in the position to win although I was four back going into the last round. I didn't think I had much of a chance. I mean I hit all over the place I was so nervous. I was lucky my short game was good and my putting was good.
THB: Did you feel pressure? What was it like?
MF: I was pretty nervous the night before but when I got to the golf course I was okay. I made the turn at plus one and I knew that wasn't going to be good enough to win. I thought that I'd have to be under par to win. I got nervous on the last three holes because I was two under and I wanted to keep the lead.
RT: I was four back and there were two guys tied with me and there were several people right behind me. I thought that someone was going to go out there and shoot well. [Bill Haas] struggled, no one thought he was going to shoot 76. He was leading by four and I thought he's going to take that home.
THB: What is next?
MF: NCAA Regionals. At regionals, you go with your team. But if you finish top eight as a team, you go to nationals. If you finish top two individually, not including teams who are going, you go to nationals.
RT: NCAA Regionals as well. Last year, the East Regional was the strongest because they didn't move that many teams around for security issues. You had to play really well there.
MF: The women's East Region is by far the strongest out of the whole country, east or west. They are trying to divide it up, so it's equal.
THB: What role do your teammates play in such an individual sport?
RT: You're not going to see a lot of your teammates since they're either behind you or ahead. But you play for the team mostly and not for yourself. We get along great right now, we had so much fun at ACCs. Every team had a house because we were in the middle of the bush and there's nothing there. We were fishing the whole time and having fun, enjoying and relaxing.
MF: My teammates are so supportive. My teammates were all watching on 18 and wanted to know what was going on. But out on the course, everyone is waving at each other and everyone is so supportive of each other. I think it's great.
THB: Do you have any superstitions or lucky charms?
MF: I'm really superstitious. I only played with Titlest Ones all week. I don't play with anything else in the tournament. If I lose them I'm in trouble. I have two stones in my pocket, one in my right pocket and one in my left pocket that my sports psychologist gave to me. If I rub one then all the bad thoughts are supposed to go away and the other one is for confidence. I carry those around.
RT: Okay I'm not that superstitious. For me it's not that bad (joking)!
I never wear a hat. But, I had a hat on last tournament and my teammates didn't recognize me. I won...they said it's the hat. In the last round of the ACCs, I wasn't playing that great. On number 10, I got the hat out. Then I was walking on 18 and my teammates were standing behind the green, watching. Jeremy [Elliott] said, "Oh man, he's got the hat. It's over, it's over."
THB: What was your shot of the tournament?
MF: I would have to say my shot on 16. I hit it in a really bad spot and I had a really awkward lie. If I had made a bogie or something worse than that, it would have turned it around, but I hit a pretty good shot.
RT: The most memorable for me was when I sprained my thumb. In the first round, sixth hole when it was cold and rainy and horrible. The club just got stuck in the ground and it hurt. I thought I would have to stop playing. It affected me for the next two days.
THB: Richard, what brought you here from Germany?
RT: I'm a junior and I think that if I hadn't played golf, I wouldn't be here right now. I wanted to continue playing golf and studying. In Europe, it's hard to do both. If you go to a university, you pretty much just study, so I looked toward the U.S. I convinced [Coach Inman] that I was the right guy.
THB: Meaghan, you transferred here from Memphis. Why did you make that decision?
MF: I wanted to come to Carolina my whole life. I went to Memphis and got a chance to play in many tournaments. I got the opportunity to balance golf and academics. The coach that recruited me left Memphis, and this was the only place I wanted to come. I'm thankful Sally gave me the chance to play here.
THB: Anything changed for you from the beginning of the season that helped you accomplish this?
MF: My mental state, being more confident and more focused. Learning how to play one shot at a time, my putting has improved and my management of the golf course has improved a lot. And the support of my teammates.
RT: Mental game. My teammates are awesome, I have to say that again. When I won the ACCs at first I was really excited, but then I was disappointed that we hadn't won the team competition because we had a good shot at it. We were only four strokes back and four shots in golf is really close.
THB: What are your plans after you graduate?
MF: I want to play after school. It's going to work out.
RT: I've played golf for so long but I'm not sure where but I'm going to try to play professionally.
THB: What did your parents think of your wins?
MF: My parents were there. My mom was crying and my dad was crying. It meant a lot because they know how hard I've worked and what I've gone through to get here.
RT: They were happy for me, they've been reading stuff online.
Players Mentioned
