I was in the middle of wrapping up the second round of
the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Saturday when I managed to take my laptop out
of commission by spilling a glass of water on it. Looks like the mistake was
not fatal, so here’s a final roundup – albeit it a little late -- of a very,
very impressive showing by Wake Forest.
Locked in a tense battle with UCLA through two rounds of one
of the premier events in Division I women’s golf, the Darius Rucker
Intercollegiate, Wake Forest, No. 7 in the latest Golfstat rankings,
blew away the field with a stunning 4-under-par 280 in Sunday’s final round at
the Long Cove Club’s Pete Dye Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C. to run away
with a 26-shot victory.
It seems like the cold and windy conditions of the first two
days eased somewhat, but no other team could match the performance by the
reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Demon Deacons.
They had taken the lead from the outset with a 3-over 287
over the 6,290-yard, par-71 Pete Dye Course in Friday’s opening round and added
a 4-over 288 in Saturday’s second round to maintain their five-shot edge over
the invaders from the West Coast, No. 14 UCLA.
But the remarkable final round enabled Wake Forest to finish
with a 3-over 855 total. The final round of 1-under 70 recorded by Wake
Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio, a junior from Cary, N.C. and No. 5 in the Women’s
World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), earned her the individual title, but was the
third-best score in the final round for the Demon Deacons. That’s how good they
were.
Southeastern Conference power Auburn, ranked 19th,
closed with a solid 5-over 289 that enabled the Tigers to earn runnerup honors,
although their 29-over 881 total wasn’t in the same zip code as Wake Forest.
Wake Forest’s ACC rival, Duke, ranked sixth, also came on
strong in the final round with a 6-over 290 that enabled the Blue Devils to
finish third, three shots behind Auburn with a 32-over 884 total.
Duke edged Wake Forest, 3-2, in the Final Match in last
spring’s NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The
Demon Deacons had to get past Auburn in the semifinals at The Blessings to get
their shot at Duke in the title match.
Pac-12 power UCLA struggled a little in the final round with
a 305, but the Bruins still finished in fourth place, a shot behind Duke at
33-over 885. It was still a pretty nice showing for UCLA and its talented trio
of freshmen as the Bruins got out of their comfort zone, traveling
cross-country to take on one of the strongest fields on the spring schedule on
a tough golf course in difficult conditions.
It was another three shots back to top-ranked Texas in fifth
place as the reigning three-time Big 12 champion Longhorns closed with an
11-over 295 for a 36-over 888 total. Much like UCLA, it was a challenging road
trip for Texas and while the Longhorns were probably disappointed in their
performance, it was still worthwhile to take on the Darius Rucker field and the
tough Pete Dye Course layout.
After a couple of disappointing days, host South Carolina,
ranked fourth, finally found its groove a little with a final round of 5-over
289 that left the Gamecocks, out of the SEC, alone in sixth place, three shots
behind Texas with a 39-over 891 total.
It was a fairly encouraging weekend for No. 36 North
Carolina, although its final-round 300 was its worst round of the tournament.
Still, North Carolina finished in seventh place, two shots behind South
Carolina at 41-over 893. Considering that every other team in the elite 17-team
field was ranked higher than the Tar Heels with the exception of No. 40
Northwestern, that’s not bad.
Migliaccio, the reigning ACC individual champion, validated
her place as one of the very best players in Division I with a steady
performance that earned her the individual title. Migliaccio, who represented
the United States in last summer’s Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and struck
gold in the women’s individual competition and as part of the Red, White &
Blue’s winning mixed team, had opened with a 1-over 72 and added a pair of 1-under
70s to finish with a 1-under 212 total.
She was the only player to finish under par for the weekend.
Migliaccio, though, is a known quantity. What Wake Forest
head coach Kim Lewellen had to be really excited about was the performances of
her two freshmen.
Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, N.C. closed with her second
2-under 69 of the tournament to finish in a tie for third place at 1-over 214.
Kuehn had grabbed the individual lead with her opening-round 69, but fell back
with a 76 in Saturday’s second round. But she put that round behind her and
again posted a 69 in the final round on a golf course that she’s obviously
comfortable playing.
Lauren Walsh of Ireland was the Wake Forest medalist in
Sunday’s final round with a sparkling 3-under 68 that left her in the 10-player
logjam tied for 10th place at 7-over 220. After struggling to a 79
in Friday’s opening round, Walsh carded a solid 2-over 73 in Saturday’s second
round before really taking it low in Sunday’s final round.
Another Wake Forest veteran, Siyun Liu, a senior from China
and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 2-over 73 to finish alone in
fifth place at 3-over 216. Liu had opened with a 1-over 72 before matching par
in Saturday’s second round with a 71.
Not that the final player in the Wake Forest lineup, Vanessa
Knecht, a sophomore from Switzerland, played poorly. The Demon Deacons had the
luxury of throwing out her final-round 73, but Knecht, who was with Wake Forest
every step of the way as a freshman on its run to the Final Match at The
Blessings, finished among the group tied for 20th place at 8-over
221.
“To win that event with the level of competition that was
there, having four players inside the top 10, Emilia winning the individual
title and having everyone in the top 20, is possibly the most impressive
showing I’ve had in my coaching career,” Lewellen told the Wake Forest website.
“These young ladies show enthusiasm for the sport and kindness toward one
another. When they rally come together, great things can happen. I’m looking
forward to watching them compete again in a few days.”
Chasing Migliaccio home in the individual chase was Furman’s
Natalie Srinivasan, a senior from Spartanburg, S.C. and No. 25 in the Women’s
WAGR. Srinivasan got better each day, adding an even-par 71 to her opening-round
72 before closing with a 1-under 70 that left her a shot behind Migliaccio in
second place at even-par 213.
As I mentioned in my Friday post, Migliaccio and Srinivasan
were two of a half-dozen players in the Darius Rucker field who participated in
a practice session in December for the U.S. Curtis Cup team, which will take on
Great Britain & Ireland in June at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire,
Wales.
As the highest-ranked American in the Women’s WAGR,
Migliaccio will likely be an automatic pick by the USGA for captain Sarah Ingram’s
U.S. team. Srinivasan did nothing to hurt her chances of making the team with
her solid showing this weekend on Hilton Head Island.
Joining Wake Forest’s Kuehn in the tie for third place at
1-over 214 was another impressive freshman, Auburn’s Megan Schofill of
Monticello, Fla. Schofill, who reached the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S.
Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., matched par in
the final round with a 71 to get it to 1-over for the weekend.
Alabama’s Kenzie Wright, a senior from Frisco, Texas, had
surged into contention with a 4-under 67 in Saturday’s second round – easily
the best round of the day – closed with a 1-over 72 to finish alone in sixth
place, a shot behind Wake Forest’s Liu at 4-over 217.
The best round of the weekend belonged to Florida State’s
Beatrice Wallin, a sophomore from Sweden who fired a sizzling 5-under 66 in
Sunday’s final round to get a share of seventh place with Auburn’s Kaleigh
Telfer, a junior from South Africa, at 5-over 218.
Wallin’s talented fellow Swede, Frida Kinhult, left the
Florida State program during the midseason break to begin her professional
career on the Symetra Tour. Kinhult had won the individual title in the Darius
Rucker a year ago, leading the Seminoles to an impressive team victory.
Telfer bounced back from a 75 in Saturday’s second round
with a 1-under 70 in Sunday’s final round to join her teammate Schofill in the
top seven in the individual standings.
Duke’s Ana Belac, a senior from Slovenia, finished up with a
2-over 73 to end up alone in ninth place at 6-over 219.
Leading the way for North Carolina was Jennifer Zhou, a
sophomore from China who closed with a 3-over 74 to join that large group tied
for 10th place at 7-over 220. Kayla Smith, a freshman from
Burlington, N.C., carded her second straight 2-over 73 to finish among the
group tied for 20th place at 8-over 221.
Mariana Ocano, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., struggled
to an 83 in the final round to finish in the group tied for 50th
place at 278. Ocano had matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a
3-over 74 in Saturday’s second round.
Senior Brynn Walker, winner of the Women’s Golf Association
of Philadelphia’s Match Play Championship on her home course at St. Davids Golf
Club last summer, never got it going on the Pete Dye Course. After a bad start
led to an opening-round 80, Walker added a 4-over 75 in Saturday’s second round
and closed with a 76 to finish in a tie for 60th place at 231.
Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Krista Junkkari,
a freshman from Finland who, like Walker, never found her comfort zone on the
Pete Dye Course. After opening with a 79, Junkkari added an 81 in Saturday’s
second round and closed with a 77 to finish among the group tied for 75th
place at 232.
North Carolina head coach Jan Mann got a nice showing by
Nicole Lu, a sophomore from Taiwan who competed in the Darius Rucker as an
individual and finished in the group tied for 37th place at 225. Lu
got a little better each day, opening with a 77 and adding a 75 in Saturday’s
second round before matching Smith for the low round by a North Carolina player
with a final round of 2-over 73.
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