The North Carolina women’s golf team placed sixth out of 12 teams competing in the ACC championships held in Pawley’s Island, SC this weekend.
What happened?
The Tar Heels’ first-round score of 294 was their strongest of the three rounds. Junior Krista Junkkari led the team in that round with an impressive score of 69 (-3) which left her in a tie for first after 18 holes.
Junior Kayla Smith, sophomore Natalia Aseguinolaza and sophomore Crista Izuzquiza all shot scores in the mid to low 70s, which counted towards the team’s total in the first round.
Junkkari’s strong play continued into the second round, as she finished 36 holes with a two-round total of five-under 139. The remaining four Tar Heels found themselves with scores in the mid to upper 70s giving the team a day two total of 298 and leaving them in ninth place with a 16-over par total for the first two rounds.
On day three, it was Smith and Aseguinolaza that stepped up for UNC after Junkkari found herself in some tough positions. Junkkari carded an eight-over score of 80 on Friday after making a triple bogey, two doubles, and a bogey without a single birdie on her card. Smith and Aseguinolaza remained consistent shooting 71 and 73 respectively.
Despite their day three total of 300 being their highest of the three rounds, the Tar Heels were able to gain some ground on other teams including N.C. State, Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech among others to improve their standing to sixth out of 12 teams.
The top four teams, Wake Forest, Florida State, Duke and Virginia will all move on to compete in the final rounds of matchplay this Saturday and Sunday.