University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Tar Heel Invitational
Tar Heels Hold On to Second Place At The Tar Heel Invitational
October 5, 2008 | Women's Golf
Oct. 5, 2008
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - On a day marked with birdies and beautiful weather, the University of North Carolina women's golf team concluded its Tar Heel Invitational with a second place finish of 888 after firing a four-over 292 in Sunday's final round. Wake Forest, who led all weekend, captured first place with an 876.
Freshman Catherine O'Donnell had an impressive third round that placed her in a three-way tie for first place, alongside Wake Forest's Jean Chua and Natalie Sheary. O'Donnell, from Ponte Vedra, Fla., carded four birdies on the day and finished at even par 216 in just her second tournament as a Tar Heel.
"I am thrilled for Catherine," Tar Heel head coach Sally Austin said. "She's got ice water in her veins, I think. She's a competitor without a doubt."
Senior Lauren Hunt of Little River, S.C., struggled in the last round, but managed to hold on to tie for 10th with a 222. Allie White, a freshman from Lancaster, Ohio, moved up to tie for 24th by shooting even par 72 for the day. Junior Kate Thomas, a native of Murwillumbah, Australia, tied for 28th with 227. Sydney Crane, the senior from Jamestown, N.C., battled her way back with a two-over par on Sunday to tie for 48th with a 230 total. Sophomores Jordan Allyne, of Bellevue, Wash., and Margaret Pentrack, of Pittsburgh, Pa., concluded their individual play at the tournament with a 232 and a 243, respectively.
"I was pleased with the play from top to bottom," Austin said. "Allie White brought it back. Sydney Crane brought it back. Lauren kind of had a little bit of a tumble today, but she had a good tournament too. I thought it was great. And Kate, she kind of went up and down a little bit. But everybody contributed and it was fun."
Jean Chua and Natalie Sheary helped lead Wake Forest to its first place finish by tying with O'Donnell for medalist honors. Wake Forest was three-over par for the day. Vanderbilt captured third place with an 892 total, while Virginia fell to fourth at 893 despite a hard fight with Carolina for second during most of the weekend.
"We had some solid performances from everyone today and all week," Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey said of her team. "I'm just really proud of the students and what they did." Dailey also mentioned her players' ability to concentrate and start solidly to finish strongly.
The Tar Heel Invitational was played at UNC Finley Golf Course. The 72-par, 6,285-yard layout is the home course for Carolina. While playing at home can be advantageous, it only happens once a year for the team. Austin wants to keep the impressive play alive, especially on other courses.
"Let's just build on it, let's get better and better," Austin said. "Our time is going to come too. We just got to stay patient, keep our nose to the grindstone and keep positive, keep hitting fairways and greens. And realize that the putts will drop; they'll drop for us just like they do for other people. We got to just believe that they're going to go and that we're going to win our share too."
Players Mentioned
