Just when it looked like Wake Forest was going to at least
salvage an individual national championship out of what had been a Murphy’s Law
of a spring, a gust of wind knocked down Jennifer Kupcho’s approach to the 17th
hole at Rich Harvest Farms into the water hazard in front of the green.
Tied for second in the NCAA Tournament isn’t bad, but in
context with the injuries and defections and everything else that befell a team
that looked like a national championship contender in the fall of 2016, it was
one last body blow.
The Demon Deacons, while still not quite whole, are back in
business this spring. Ranked 21st in the latest Golfstat rankings, they claimed the team title in their tournament,
the Bryan National Collegiate, Saturday at Bryan Park’s Champions Course in
Browns Summit, N.C.
And they did it behind their star, Kupcho, a junior from
Westminster, Colo. who grinded out the individual title in dreadful conditions,
rain and cold – perfect preparation for the vagaries of the postseason that
awaits.
Things got so bad last spring that Erica Herr, the two-time
PIAA champion at Council Rock North, played with one arm in the Athens Regional
because had she withdrawn, the entire Wake Forest team would have been
disqualified, including Kupcho, who, obviously would go on to contend for a
national individual title.
As far as I am aware, Herr hasn’t played since, although the
senior is still listed on the Wake Forest roster. And Antonia Eberhard, a
junior from Germany, also was not in the lineup for the Bryan National
Collegiate. Eberhard never could quite overcome a nagging core muscle injury
last spring. She would be a nice addition to the lineup if she can get healthy
for the postseason.
Wake Forest doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, but a 1-2
punch of Kupcho and Emilia Migliacco, a talented freshman from Cary, N.C., at
the top of the lineup is a good place to start.
After playing par golf with a pair of even-par 72s in
Friday’s double-round, Kupcho put together one of the very few sub-par rounds
of the day Saturday, a 1-under 71. That gave her a 1-under 215 total and a
two-shot victory over North Carolina State’s Naomi Ko, a junior from Canada,
whose 2-under 70 was the low round of the day.
Kupcho’s effort also enabled Wake Forest to post the only
sub-300 team score of the day, an 11-over 299 that left it with a 24-over 888
total and a five-shot margin over runnerup Furman. The No. 7 Paladins carded a
305 for a 29-over 893 total.
No. 24 North Carolina had surged to a one-shot lead atop the
strong 17-team field with the only sub-par team round of the tournament Friday
afternoon. But the Tar Heels struggled to a 310 Saturday and shared third place
with No. 22 Auburn at 33-over 897. The Tigers posted a final-round 308.
No. 9 South Carolina was another shot behind North Carolina
and Auburn in fifth at 34-over 898 after a final-round 304 and No. 35 N.C.
State was sixth, a shot behind the Gamecocks at 899 after a final-round 306.
It was a tough day for No. 39 Notre Dame, which had moved
into ninth place on the strength of a solid 7-over 295 in Friday’s afternoon
round. But the Irish struggled Saturday, posting a 325 that left them in 13th
place at 924.
Many teams in the field were playing with half-an-eye toward
the ACC Championship, which, it was announced last week, has moved to the
Grandover Resort and Conference Center’s East Course in Greensboro, N.C. April
21 to 23. Notre Dame had six ACC teams finish ahead of it in the Bryan National
Collegiate.
Wake Forest will be a contender in the ACC Championship,
mostly because of the presence of Kupcho and Migliacco. One of a slew of
tremendously talented freshmen all around the country, Migliacco had the lead
in the Bryan National Collegiate after two rounds before struggling to an 80 in
Saturday’s tough conditions. Still, she finished alone in seventh place in the
individual standings at 5-over 221 and was a big reason why the Demon Deacons
claimed the team crown.
Siyun Liu, a sophomore from China, finished in the group
tied for 16th at 225 after a final round of 4-over 76. Liu’s weekend
was highlighted by a 3-under 69 in Friday’s afternoon round. Mia Dechathipat, a
junior from Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., finished up with a solid 2-over 74 to
join the group tied for 37th at 229.
Monica Schumacher, a junior from Orlando, Fla., rounded out
the Wake Forest lineup, finishing 90th at 251, although her
final-round 78 was a counter that proved crucial to the team triumph given the
uncharacteristic struggles for Migliacco.
N.C. State’s Ko seemed to thrive in Saturday’s cold and rain
with her 2-under 70. Combined with the 73-74 she posted in Friday’s
double-round, it enabled Ko to take runnerup honors at 1-over 217.
South Carolina’s Lois Kaye Go, a sophomore from the
Philippines, and Clemson’s Sydney Legacy, a senior from Lexington, S.C., shared
third place, two shots behind Ko at 3-over 219. Go carded a final round of
3-over 75 while Legacy posted her third straight 2-over 73.
North Carolina’s Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington,
Conn. who had surged into second behind Migliacco with a 4-under 68 Friday
afternoon, stumbled a little with a 5-over 77, but shared fifth place with
Auburn’s Kayley Marschke, a sophomore from Suwanee, Ga., at 4-over 220.
Marschke finished up with a 3-over 75.
Whaley has set the tone for North Carolina in the last few
weeks, winning the individual title in the Briar’s Creek Invitational while
leading the Tar Heels to the individual title and adding a top-five finish in
the Bryan National Collegiate to help them contend for the team title.
Bryana Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md., backed up Whaley
by finishing in the group tied for 21st at 226 after a final-round
76. Ava Bergner, the Heels’ talented freshman from Germany, finished tied for
40th at 230 after a final-round 79. Bergner has been spectacular at
times as she was in matching Whaley’s 68 in Friday afternoon’s second round.
Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla., has
been moving forward all season. She finished in the group tied for 45th
at 231 after a final-round 78.
Sophomore Brynn Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion
at Radnor, finished in the group tied for 60th at 236 after
struggling home with an 84 Saturday. The 1-over 73 Walker posted in Friday
morning’s opening round, North Carolina’s best in that round, is more like it
for her and she’d be the first one to tell you that.
North Carolina brought along two players to compete as
individuals. Cheni Xu, a senior from China, finished in the group tied for 63rd
at 237 after a final-round 84 and Clementina Rodriguez, a junior from Venezuela,
finished alone in 93rd at 254 after a final-round 91.
Emma Albrecht, a junior from Ormond Beach, Fla., led the way
for Notre Dame as she finished in the group tied for 12th at 8-over
224 after a final-round 70. Albrecht represented the Irish as an individual in
the Columbus Regional last spring and remains their steady leader.
Mia Ayer, a sophomore from Waco, Texas, finished tied for 21st
at 226 after a final-round 82. But she was at her best with rounds of 73 and 71
Friday that left her at even-par 144 through two rounds.
Junior Isabella DiLisio, the 2013 PIAA Class AAA champion as
a junior at Mount St. Joseph, finished in the group tied for 63rd at
237 after a final-round 82. Abby Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn., was
another two shots behind DiLisio in the group tied for 58th at 239
after a final-round 83.
Rounding out the Notre Dame lineup was Maddie Rose Hamilton,
a junior from Louisville, Ky. who finished in the group tied for 78th
at 241 after a final-round 82.
It was the kind of day when just breaking 80 was a chore. It’s
the kind of experience that might pay dividends in the weeks to come.
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