GoHeels Exclusive: Bergner's Big Weekend, Olympic Sport Notes

by Pat James

After starting Sunday's third round of the 42nd Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational on hole No. 3 at UNC Finley Golf Course, Ava Bergner sat at even par for the day after 10 holes.

But with an eagle, four birdies and three pars over her final eight holes, Bergner rapidly ascended up the leaderboard, carding a 6-under-par 66. Even then, her late charge wasn't enough.

Bergner fell just short of the individual title, losing by two strokes to Leona Maguire of Duke. But Bergner's third-round performance and 54-hole score of 10-under-par 206 helped cement her name in North Carolina women's golf history.

Bergner's third-round score tied all-time UNC individual records for best round (66) and lowest score to par (-6). It also marked the best round by a Tar Heel at the Tar Heel Invitational – Heather Angell shot a 67 in the third round of the 1998 tournament, held at Chapel Hill Country Club.

As for Bergner's 206, it tied for the second-best 54-hole score in program history, just one shot shy of Kelly Whaley's 205 at the Cougar Classic in 2016.
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Bergner's effort helped steer UNC to a fifth-place finish, its best in the Tar Heel Invitational since winning in 2012. It also improved her stroke average to an impressive 70.9 through her first three collegiate tournaments.

Veterans shine in Fall World Series

Despite the departures of J.B. Bukauskas, Brian Miller and Logan Warmoth to MLB, the baseball team still boasts multiple veteran leaders entering this spring.

And in the Blue team's 2-1 series win over Navy during this weekend's Fall World Series at Boshamer Stadium, two of them – Kyle Datres and Zack Gahagan – showed why they'll be key cogs in the Tar Heels' lineup this spring.

In Blue's 5-3 victory Friday, Gahagan hit a pair of two-run home runs, one in the first inning and another in the third. Datres followed that up Saturday in Navy's 5-2 win with a 3-for-3 effort, highlighted by a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the third.

Alcorta paces cross country teams

After injuries sidelined her for a majority of last season, Caroline Alcorta appears to be fully healthy for the first time since earning All-ACC and All-Region honors in 2015.

Alcorta led the women's cross country team at Friday's Penn State National, finishing the race in fourth place with a 6k personal best of 20:26. The performance perhaps couldn't come at a better time, with the ACC Championships being held Oct. 27.

Morgan Isle, who finished ninth at the Louisville Classic on Sept. 30, also continued her recent success at the Penn State National, taking fifth with a 6k personal best of 20:29. Jeremy Brown led the men, finishing 32nd with a time of 26:11.

Field hockey rebounds

Only three times this season has the field hockey team surrendered three goals. But each time, the Tar Heels have lost.

The third such incident occurred Saturday at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, where fifth-ranked UNC is playing its home games this season as a new stadium is built, as the team fell 3-2 against No. 11 Louisville.

The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Tar Heels, who outshot the Cardinals 15-7. But the team responded Sunday, when it defeated VCU 4-1 in Richmond, Va.

Rowing opens fall season

For the first time this season, the rowing team faced outside competition Saturday, participating in a scrimmage against Duke on Lake Michie.

In the Pride Race event, held with the mission of showing support and acceptance for all, UNC fielded five eights. The UNC A lineup – Adelaide Cooke (coxswain), Laura Naylor, Kelly Williams, Kathryn Johnson, Morgan Donnelly, Maria Marroquin, Paige Colpo, Melanie Hussey and Sally Stanley – finished with the fastest time of the group at 14:49.7.

A tough-earned draw

After playing 13 matches in a six-week span, the men's soccer team returned to the pitch Friday following a six-day layoff, its longest of the season.

That extra rest proved to be of need against No. 5 Louisville, as fourth-ranked UNC battled to a 0-0 double-overtime draw. Seven Tar Heels played all 110 minutes of the match, including goalkeeper Alec Smir – who recorded two saves in his third shutout of the season.

With the draw, UNC (11-2-1, 4-1-1 ACC) sits at 13 points through six ACC matches, three ahead of second-place Notre Dame.

Scarpa, Wubben-Moy return

The fifth-ranked women's soccer team's 4-1 road win over Boston College on Saturday extended its winning streak to seven. But perhaps just as important as the result were the returns of Jessie Scarpa and Lotte Wubben-Moy.

With the Tar Heels leading 2-0, Scarpa checked in at forward and Wubben-Moy on the back line at the 15-minute mark of the first half. For Scarpa, the appearance marked her first since she sustained a knee injury against South Florida on Aug. 27. Wubben-Moy hadn't played since being injured against UNCW on Sept. 3.

Scarpa made the most of her return, giving UNC a 3-0 lead on her goal in the 42nd minute. And Wubben-Moy will likely be counted on with Maya Worth out for the rest of the season after tearing her Achilles tendon.

Volleyball finds consistency

The volleyball team entered Friday's match against Virginia Tech ranked 154th nationally with a .206 hitting percentage. And in the first set, attack errors continued plaguing the Tar Heels, who committed eight and hit .094.

But over its next six sets, UNC made just 14 attack errors and ultimately rode its most efficient offensive performances of the season to wins over the Hokies and Virginia.

Playing in front of 19,246 fans, a new all-time NCAA volleyball attendance record, as part of Late Night with Roy, the Tar Heels hit .306 in a 3-1 win (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-16) over Virginia Tech. That was a season high until the team hit .402 in a 3-0 victory (25-12, 25-19, 25-16) against the Cavaliers on Saturday, marking the team's first ACC sweep of the season.

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