Carolina Kicks Off New Season With Cougar Classic

Sunday, September 8

Charleston, S.C.

All Day

North Carolina

Cougar Classic

2019-20 Women's Golf Team

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 8, 2019 | Women's Golf

CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina women's golf team is set to open its 2019-20 season Monday, September 9 at the Cougar Classic, hosted by the College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan, South Carolina. The Tar Heels open their fall schedule for the second- straight year in Hanahan after finishing ninth in the tournament last year.

Tournament play in Hanahan will again be altered due to hurricane conditions. Last year, Hurricane Florence resulted in the cancellation of the final round. Hurricane Dorian threatened to cancel this year's Cougar Classic entirely, but the tournament will now be played in a condensed two-day competition with the first two rounds on Monday and the final on Tuesday.

The Tar Heels' starting five for their season opener will be senior Brynn Walker, junior Ava Bergner, sophomores Jennifer Zhou and Nicole Lu, and freshman Krista Junkkari.

TEAM PREVIEW
Since the conclusion of the East Lansing NCAA Regional in May, the Tar Heel golfers have worked diligently over the summer to prepare for the new season.

After finishing 13th in the 2018 East Lansing NCAA Regional, the Tar Heels will look to rebound from an up-and-down 2018-19 campaign in hopes of returning to the NCAA Championship this year.

The Tar Heels are led by two returning seniors in Brynn Walker and Mariana Ocano. Ocano, who has competed in 24 tournaments for the Tar Heels, enters her senior season with a collegiate scoring average 76.07 strokes per round and looks to capitalize on a strong spring season, which saw her finish in the top-10 at the Brickyard Collegiate in April.

Walker, who has competed in 34 tournaments for the Tar Heels, relished in a summer that she will not forget anytime soon. In early July, Walker won the 119th Philadelphia Women's Amateur at her home course, St. Davids Golf Club, before finishing fifth at the Ladies National Golf Association Amateur at the Golf Club of Tennessee later that month. In August, Walker capped her summer of wonderful performances with a 17th-place finish at the highly coveted U.S. Women's Amateur Championships.

Catapulting off of a wave of momentum, Walker is looked upon to lead the Tar Heels in the 2019-20 season.

"Brynn has always been a very vocal leader," North Carolina head coach Jan Mann said. "She communicates well with us and with the team...She is very enthusiastic and very excited about the upcoming year, and I think that is going to trickle over to the rest of the team."

Junior Ava Bergner and sophomore Nicole Lu are poised for strong performances in 2019-20 for the Tar Heels. Over the course of 22 tournaments, Bergner enters her third season with a collegiate scoring average of 75.05 strokes per round. Lu competed in 10 tournaments with the Tar Heels as a freshman and posted a season low round of 70 at the Tar Heel Classic in March.

Exploding onto the scene as a freshman in the 2018-19 campaign, sophomore Jennifer Zhou was named to the All-ACC Women's Golf Team. Zhou, hailing from Kunming, China, was the first Tar Heel to earn all-ACC honors since the 2013-14 season, and was one of four freshmen named to the team.

Now, in her second year, Coach Mann believes that Zhou's mindset and work ethic are aligned for big things in the upcoming season.

"I think Jennifer has a much better understanding of what she needs to do," Mann said. "She has the desire to become an All-American player. She definitely has a better understanding of what she is going to have to do to get there...Our team is deeper this year and stronger, and everyone is going to be pushed and that will be good for Jennifer."

Aleks Golde, Krista Junkkari and Kayla Smith make up the incoming freshman class. Golde, from Atlanta, GA, was a member of the 2018 Georgia 3A All-State golf team. Notably, Golde was presented the 2018 Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Comeback Athlete of the Year after prevailing through knee injuries during high school.

Junkkari, a native of Kouvola, Finland, is ranked No. 229 in the world amateur rankings, and a member of the Finnish national team. Over the summer, Junkkari took home the silver medal as runner-up in the European Ladies' Amateur Championship. Having only been with the Tar Heels for a few weeks, she is acclimating to a new culture and school; however, her dedicated work ethic is shining through.

"Krista is definitely one of the hardest and most focused players we have had in quite some time," Mann said. "She knows what she wants and she has a plan. We are helping her with that plan and her goal of playing on the LPGA."

Smith, a local from Burlington, NC, is ranked No. 7 in the state of North Carolina by Carolinas Golf Association, and won the qualifier for the 2019 UGSA Girls' Junior Championship. In high school, Smith was a three-time all-state competitor, including first-team all-state recognition in 2018.

Missing the NCAA Championship served as motivation for the team during the offseason, and incentive to continue working hard throughout the year to get back to the NCAA Championship.

"Last year, not making it to nationals left a bad taste in our mouths," Mann said. "We are committed to doing whatever we need to do to get back to nationals. Even though it is a young team, it is a mature team. As a team they will push each other, they will have a lot of fun together, but they also want to win."

COURSE INFORMATION
Yeamans Hall Club – Hanahan, S.C. – Par 72 – 6,301 yards

LIVE SCORING
http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=18742

TEE TIMES
Monday, Sept. 9 – First and Second Rounds – 8:45 a.m. (ET) shotgun start (36 holes of continuous play)
Tuesday, Sept. 10 – Final Round – 9:00 a.m. (ET) shotgun start

TOURNAMENT NOTES
The 16th Annual Cougar Classic gets underway this weekend at Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan, S.C. Tournament play was condensed to a two-day event with 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday due to Hurricane Dorian.

2019-20 WOMEN'S GOLF SCHEDULE
Sept. 9-10       Cougar Classic (Charleston, S.C.)
Sept. 20-22     Mason Rudolph Championship (Nashville, Tenn.)
Oct. 11-13       Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Oct. 25-27       Landfall Tradition (Wilmington, N.C.)
Feb. 17-18      Moon Gold Invitational (Melbourne, Fla.)
Mar. 6-8          Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Hilton Head, S.C.)
Mar. 13-15      Clover Cup (Mesa, Ariz.)
Apr. 5-7           Bryan National Collegiate (Greensboro, N.C.)
Apr. 24-26       ACC Championships (Pawley's Island, S.C.)
May 11-13       NCAA Regionals (Athens, Ga., South Bend, Ind., Raleigh, N.C. or Pullman, Wash.)
May 22-27       NCAA Championships (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Visit GoHeels.com for the complete schedule.

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