Carolina Golfers Finish Eighth At NCAA Championships

Saturday, May 21

College Station, Texas

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA Championships

May 21, 2011 | Women's Golf

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 21, 2011

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BRYAN, TEXAS -

The North Carolina women's golf team finished in a tie for eighth place at the NCAA Championships, one of the best national finishes in school history. The Tar Heels carded a 10-over-par 298 for an 1193 total and were led by Allie White and Casey Grice who both fired a 2-over 74 on Saturday.

This marked Carolina's second best NCAA finish. The Tar Heels have carded eighth place finishes on five occasions - 2011, 1995, 1993, 1992 and 1989. Carolina's best NCAA finish came just two years ago when they finished seventh.

Katherine Perry, a freshman from Cary, N.C., had the best finish for the Tar Heels. She carded a 3-over-par 75 in the final round to finish in a tie for 24th place with an 8-over 296 total. Another freshman, Grice, from nearby College Station, finished just one stroke back at 9-over 297 in a tie for 26th place. Grice was 1-under after 13 holes, but suffered bogies on three of her last five holes. Freshman Jackie Chang, from Paradise Valley, Ariz., tied for 53rd place after posting a 4-over 76 on Saturday. Her scorecard was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the par-3, 165-yard second hole, her 11th hole. Like Perry, junior Catherine O'Donnell fired a 3-over 75 in the final round. O'Donnell, a native of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., tied for 69th place with a 306 total. She was 5-over after her first 11 holes, but carded two birdies on her last seven holes. Junior White's 74 gave her a 297 total and a tie for 80th. She carded a birdie-3 on her last hole, the par-4 ninth hole.

UCLA captured the team title with a 21-over 1173 total. The Bruins, who held the lead after each round, fired a 7-over 295 in the final round. Defending champion Purdue was the runner-up, finishing just four strokes behind the Bruins at 25-over 1177. LSU finished third at 1181 while Virginia was fourth at 1186 and top-ranked Southern California and Arkansas tied for fifth place with 1190 totals. Host Texas A&M impressed the hometown crowd with a seventh-place showing at 1191. Carolina and Alabama were two strokes back in a tie for eighth place with 1193 totals while Vanderbilt and Florida tied for 10th at 1196.

Austin Ernst of LSU fired a 6-under 66 in the final round to capture the individual title with a 7-under 281 total. Like Carolina's Chang, Ernst fired an ace on the 165-yard second hole. Kelli Shean of Arkansas was the runner-up at 4-under 284, three strokes behind Ernst. Laura Gonzales of Purdue finished third at 2-under 286 while UCLA's Tiffany Lua and Georgia's Marta Silva Zamora tied for fourth place with 1-under 287 totals.

The 72-hole event was played Saturday at The Traditions Club, which features a par 72, 6,260-yard layout. The Traditions Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, a UNC graduate.