University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Captures Fourth Place at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational
October 8, 2006 | Women's Golf
Oct. 8, 2006
Third Round Player Leaders
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina women's golf team fired a 15-over-par 303 Sunday to solidify fourth place in the 31st annual Lady Tar Heel Invitational at UNC Finley Golf Course. The Tar Heels beat out seven top 25 ranked squads in a 17-team field that featured 10 teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 20. Sunday's 303 team score brought the Tar Heels total to a 39-over 903 for the championship, 23 shots better than their score from the 2005 tournament. Carolina finished just four shots back of rival and number two-ranked Duke and just 10 shots off of the champion Vanderbilt Commodores.
"Up until the last nine holes, we were right in there," said head coach Sally Austin. "We will learn from that. We haven't been in this position for a while. What we can take away is that we beat a lot of good teams today and we were right in it with the other good teams. It showed we can play with anybody."
Senior Katie Miller was the Tar Heels top finisher closing out her final home tournament in a tie for ninth. The Jeannette, Pa. native shot a two-over 74 in the final round and completed the tournament at six-over. The top ten finish was her first of this season and fifth of her career. It was also her best career finish at the Lady Tar Heel.
"Going up against some teams that are ranked higher than us, and being able to beat them, it shows a lot," said Miller of the team's performance. "It certainly gives us confidence to know that we can play with anybody. Personally, I was glad to have three consistent rounds and have a pretty good finish since it's my last one."
Junior Ann Laney finished just outside the top ten in a tie for 11th at eight-over-par after her round of 77 on Sunday. Like Miller, it was her best finish of the young season and her eighth career top-15.
"My driving and iron play were pretty consistent," Laney said of her round. "My putting is continuing to get better, so I feel pretty good about that."
Lauren Hunt continued her string of solid rounds with a three-over 75. The sophomore from Little River, S.C. finished in a tie for 16th at nine-over. Fellow sophomore Sydney Crane carded her best round of the tournament on Sunday with a five-over 75 while freshman Kate Thomas closed out her first career Lady Tar Heel Invitational with a 79.
"They all did pretty well," said Austin. "Lauren Hunt was right in there even though she didn't make some of the putts she wanted to make. Kate Thomas is going to start making some putts and Sydney Crane just never says die. She is going to get better and better. We had some individuals that had some really good rounds and I am very pleased about that."
The Vanderbilt Commodores used another superb round from Cary native Chris Brady to collect their first Lady Tar Heel Invitational championship. The Commodores shot a 10-over 298 Sunday to finish five strokes up on second place Virginia. Vanderbilt halted Duke's streak of nine straight Lady Tar Heel championships and became the 12th different school to claim the title.
"I was really proud of our team," said Vanderbilt head coach Martha Freitag. "We played in tough conditions and I think our team really thrives in situations where the tougher the conditions, the better. Anytime you can win in a field like this with so many great teams, it makes you feel pretty good."
For the second time in the tournament's history, individual co-champions were named. Florida State's Caroline Westrup and Texas A&M's Ashley Knoll shot identical three-under 69s to beat out first and second round leader Jennie Lee of Duke by two strokes. Lee posted her third straight even-par 72 but it wasn't enough to hold off Westrup, who led the tournament with 41 pars, or Knoll, who was the tournament's leader in birdies with 13.
Knoll became the tournament's second two-time medalist and first to win in consecutive years. Duke's Candy Hannemann won the tournament in 1998 and 2000. Hannemann was also part of the last co-champions when she and teammate Leigh Ann Hardin won the tournament at four-over 220 in 2000.
The Tar Heels return to action on Friday, October 13 when they tee it up in the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
![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
