University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Women in Fifth After Round One
October 13, 2004 | Women's Golf
Oct. 8, 2004
Chapel Hill, N.C. - Teams from across the country began play Friday, October 8, at the UNC's Finley Golf Course in this year's Franklin Street Partners Invitational. Traditionally recognized as one of the most beautiful courses in the southeast, Finley Golf Course is a par-72, 6,285-yard course for the ladies and a par-72, 7,199-yard course for the men.
After one day of play the North Carolina men's golf team carded an even par 288. The score puts them five strokes behind Virginia, which led the field with a score of 283. Georgia Southern fired a three-under par 285 as a team to put them in second place.
After the first round of play Tar Heel coach John Inman stressed his team's need to focus on putting.
"We have to make more putts," said Inman. "The guys really struck the ball well. Matt Crenshaw hit 16 out of 17 greens for even par. We had a lot of good chances and just didn't convert a lot. None of our guys made a lot of putts and you've got to make putts to reach those low scores."
Inman wants his team to focus on beating the golf course in the next two rounds. The greens and fairways are changing this time of year, which tends to take away some of the home course advantage.
"The conditions have changed over the last week quite a bit. So, the course is playing different, even for us," said Inman. "We've just got to go out and beat the golf course. If we do that we're going to beat the other teams."
Virginia coach Bowen Sergent was pleased with his team's control of the lead after round one and looks for them to keep up to consistency for the rest of the tournament.
"I just want our guys to approach the next two rounds one shot at a time," said Sergent. "Hopefully they can take some confidence from today's round and move forward with it."
In the men's individual race, sophomore Jonathan Jackson led the Tar Heels with a one-under par 71.
"Jonathan played solid," said Inman. "He made a lot of birdies especially starting off. But, we've got to work on finishing strong."
Senior Matt Crenshaw and sophomore Reed Darsie also made contributions for the Tar Heels with even scores of 72.
The overall individual leader was East Carolina's Adam Howell, who shot a six-under par 66. Rhys Davis of East Tennessee State, and Ray Sheedy of Charlotte, finished one stroke behind Howell with a score of 67. Twelve men's golfers finished the first round of play under par.
North Carolina women's golf team finished the day in fifth place with a team score of 304. The strength of the women's field makes The Franklin Street Partners Invitational one of the most competitive in the country.
"There are nine teams playing, almost all of which are in the top 25 and probably four of them are in the top ten," said Tar Heel junior Beth Marushak. "It's nice to see how some of the top teams in the country play our course."
Duke led the field with a six-over par 294. Auburn finished the day one stroke behind the Blue Devils with a score of 295.
Sophomore Kaite Miller, from Jeannette, Pa., led the way for the Tar Heels in round one by shooting a one-over par 73. Miller hit 18 of 18 greens to put her tied for sixth place.
"Katie hit the ball extremely well today," said head coach Sally Austin. "She's one of the best ball strikers I've ever seen. She just needs to work on getting the ball in the hole and make some more putts."
Miller agreed by saying, "I'm working on putting a lot right now. I hit the ball really well today. But, if I putt well in the next two days I'll be happy."
Freshman Ann Laney and junior Beth Marushak also made contributions for the Tar Heels, each with a score of 76.
"We're feeling really well," said Marushak. "We play our home course really well and if we play a little better tomorrow we can shoot some great scores out there."
Wake Forest's Maggie Simons led all scores in the women's field with a three-under par 69. She was trailed by Duke's Elizabeth Janangelo, who shot an even-par 72.
The most exciting shot of the day came on the par three, 164-yard 12th hole, when Auburn's Diana Ramage hit a hole-in-one.
The Franklin Street Partners Invitational will resume play tomorrow, Saturday October 9, at 9:00 am. The women will tee-off from hole number ten and the men will begin at hole number one. The Tar Heel women's golf team begin play at 9:45 am and the Tar Heel men will begin at 10:30 am.
![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)
