University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Day 1
Bergner In 10th; Carolina In Seventh After Round One
March 2, 2018 | Women's Golf
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - After a tough opening nine holes, the University of North Carolina women's golf team used eight birdies on the back nine to move into a tie for seventh at nine-over par at the conclusion of a windy round one of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
After shooting 12-over on the front nine at the Long Cove Club, the Tar Heels shot 3-under over the back nine to inch up the leaderboard over the course of the afternoon. They sit just seven shots out from the leader, No. 2 Alabama.
"We started out definitely struggling, and I'd certainly rather have the struggles at the beginning than at the end," head coach Jan Mann said. "It's always nice to finish strong. I think it was just a matter of getting comfortable out there, getting into their rhythm and tempo."
Freshman Ava Bergner led the way through round one for Carolina, finishing the day at even-par 71 and tied for 10th.
Sophomore Mariana Ocano finished the day tied for 23rd at 2-over 73, junior Kelly Whaley shot a 74 to finish round one tied for 32nd and Brynn Walker rounded out the scoring on the day with a 75 to be tied at 42nd going into round two.
Senior Bryana Nguyen shot an 81 and is tied for 87th. Competing as an individual, junior Clementina Rodriguez had her best round of the season, a 75 to head into round two tied for 42nd.
No. 2 Alabama leads the field at 2-over par, and Carolina leads four teams ranked in the Golfstat Top-25 - No. 5 Duke, No. 8 South Carolina, No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 20 Virginia.
"It's such a strong field, that you don't want to put pressure on anybody," Mann said. "You just have to really keep grinding out there and have a lot of grit because a couple of shots is going to make a huge difference with this field. I feel confident in this team and feel like they certainly can put a good score up tomorrow."
Olivia Mehaffey of defending national champion No. 6 Arizona State leads all players at 5-under par.
Tonight, the Tar Heels will visit the home of UNC alums Tommy and Ann Webster. Longtime friend Jim Ferree will also be visiting with the team.
"We're excited to be spending a part of the evening with some of our Carolina Family," Mann said.
ROUND 2: The tournament resumes with round two on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Carolina will tee off in the opening group with the defending national champions and Georgia. Rodriguez will tee off at 8:20 a.m. from hole 10. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com, fans can follow @uncwomen's golf on twitter for updates throughout the round and a full recap will be available following the conclusion of play.
TAR HEEL SCORES
T10 - Ava Bergner 71 (E)
T23 - Mariana Ocano 73 (+2)
T32 - Kelly Whaley 74 (+3)
T42 - Brynn Walker 75 (+4)
T87 - Bryana Nguyen 81 (+10)
Team Totals: 293, +9 (T-7th of 18 teams)
(competing as an individual)
T42 - Clementina Rodriguez 75 (+4)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Alabama 286 (+2)
2. Northwestern 287 (+3)
3. Arkansas 290 (+6)
4. LSU 291 (+7)
T5. Furman 292 (+8)
T5. Mississippi State 292 (+8)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
1. Olivia Mehaffey (Arizona State) 66 (-5)
2. Claudia De Antonio (LSU) 67 (-4)
3. Hannah Kim (Northwestern) 68 (-3)
T4. Alice Chen (Furman) 69 (-2)
T4. Lauren Stephenson (Alabama) 69 (-2)
T4. Stephanie Lau (Northwestern) 69 (-2)
Players Mentioned
