Wake Forest, behind its powerful 1-2 punch of Jennifer
Kupcho, a senior from Westminster, Colo. and the No 1 player in the Women’s
World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Emily Migliacco, a sophomore from Cary,
N.C. and No. 18 in the Women’s WAGR, continued to dominate the Bryan National
Collegiate during Saturday’s second round at the Bryan Park Champions Course in
Browns Summit, N.C.
North Carolina junior Brynn Walker, a former Radnor High
standout, and the Tar Heels continued to turn things around in the spring
portion of their schedule. Walker, winner of the PIAA Class AAA title in 2014
and 2015 at Radnor, added a 2-under-par 70 over the 6,305-yard, par-72 Bryan
Park Champions Course to her opening-round 71 to join three other players in
the group tied for fourth in the individual standings at 3-under 141.
Wake Forest, No. 12 in the latest Golfstat rankings, is playing at a very high level at the moment.
Kupcho, the reigning NCAA individual champion, matched the low round of the day
with a 4-under 68 that gave her a share of the individual lead with Migliacco
at 8-under 136. Migliacco added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 67 to get her
piece of the top spot.
As I mentioned in a post on the opening round of the Bryan
National Collegiate, Kupcho and Migliacco are both headed for next week’s
inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Invitational, which tees off Wednesday
at the Champions Retreat Golf Club.
They led the Demon Deacons to the low team round of the day,
a 6-under 282. It wasn’t quite as impressive as the Bryan National Collegiate
record 12-under 274 they posted in Friday’s opening round, but it left Wake
Forest at 20-under 556 and with a commanding 16-shot advantage.
Wake Forest’s Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina
State, ranked 57th, added a 1-under 287 to its opening-round 285 to
hold onto second place at 4-under 572.
Walker’s 2-under 70 led North Carolina to a 4-under 284,
which, combined with its opening-round 291, enabled the Tar Heels to get it
under par for two rounds at 1-under 575, three shots behind N.C. State in third
place.
No. 72 Charlotte put together a solid 1-under 287 after
opening with a 292 to break up the ACC party in fourth place at 3-over 579.
No. 15 Virginia was another seven shots behind Charlotte in
fifth place at 10-over 586 after adding a 7-over 295 to its opening-round 291.
No. 50 Virginia Tech made it five ACC teams in the top six as the Hokies added
a 6-over 294 to their opening-round 295 and are alone in sixth place at 13-over
289, three shots behind Virginia.
No. 30 Oregon State, the Pac-12 entry getting out of its comfort
zone with a cross-country trip to North Carolina, was alone in seventh place at
17-over 593 after adding a 7-over 295 to its opening-round 298. No. 55 Ohio
State, out of the Big Ten, was alone in eighth place in the 17-team field with
an 18-over 294 total, a shot behind Oregon State. The Buckeyes added a 10-over
298 to their opening-round 296.
Backing up Kupcho and Migliacco for Wake Forest was Letizia
Bagnoli, a freshman from Italy who backed off a little from her opening-round
68 with a 1-over 73 that left her among the group tied for fourth at 3-under
141 along with North Carolina’s Walker.
Siyun Liu, a junior from China, added an even-par 72 to her
opening-round 71 for the Demon Deacons to leave her among the group tied for 11th
at 1-under 143. Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Vanessa Knecht, a
freshman from Switzerland who posted a second straight 1-over 73 to land in the
group tied for 18th at 2-over 146.
It is the same five that enabled Wake Forest to dominate the
Tar Heel Classic hosted by Suzy Whaley earlier this month at Casa de Campo in
the Dominican Republic and the Demon Deacons are doing it again.
Charlotte’s Ashley Fowler, a sophomore from Germany, carded
her second straight 70 to hold down third place at 4-under 140, four shots
behind Kupcho and Migliacco.
Walker, who plays out of St. Davids Golf Club, really had it
going in the middle of Saturday’s second round, rattling off five birdies in a
stretch of eight holes from the ninth to the 16th holes to get it to
4-under for the round before a double bogey at the 17th dropped her
back to 2-under.
Joining Walker and Wake Forest’s Bagnoli in the foursome
tied for fourth at 3-under 141 were N.C. State’s India Clyburn, a senior from
England, and Idaho’s Sophie Hausmann, a senior from Germany.
Clyburn, a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis
Cup team that fell to Kupcho and the United States at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in
Scarsdale, N.Y. last summer, added an even-par 72 to her opening-round 69 while
Haussmann matched Kupcho for the low round of the day with a 4-under 68 after
opening with a 73.
Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China, fired a 2-under 70 to
share medalist honors for the day for North Carolina with Walker and head a
group of three players tied for eighth at 2-under 142. Zhou opened with an
even-par 72.
Zhou was joined at 2-under 142 by Virginia Tech’s Amanda
Hollandsworth, a graduate student from Floyd, Va., and Oregon State’s Ellie
Slama, a sophomore from Salem, Va. Hollandsworth also matched the low round of
the day with a 4-under 68 after opening with a 74 while Slama carded a second
straight 1-under 71.
A third North Carolina player bettered par Saturday as
Kelly Whaley, a senior from Farmington, Conn., bounced back from an
opening-round 76 with a 1-under 71 for a 3-over 147 total that left her in the
group tied for 21st. Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, was the
final counter for the Tar Heels with a 1-over 73 that left her among the group
tied for 28th at 4-over 148.
Nicole Liu, a freshman from Taiwan, rounded out the North
Carolina lineup as she posted a 77 that left her among the group tied for 36th
at 6-over 150. Liu had opened with a solid 1-over 73.
North Carolina head coach Jan Mann also brought alone
Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., to compete as an individual.
Ocano knocked four shots off her opening-round 80 with a 4-over 76 to join the
group tied for 69th at 156.
Georgetown junior Kate Evanko, who starred scholastically at
Unionville, added an 82 to her opening-round 80 and is alone in 87th
place at 162. The reigning Big East champion Hoyas are 16th in the
team standings at 51-over 627 after adding a 312 to their opening-round 315.
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