Behind Streicher, North Carolina goes wire to wire to capture team crown in UCF Challenge

 

   Going into her third season as the head coach of the North Carolina women’s program, Aimee Neff had just one tournament victory on her resume.

   All of a sudden, Neff has three tournament titles. Dodging the raindrops, Neff’s Tar Heels went wire to wire to cruise to a five-shot victory in the UCF Challenge, which wrapped up Monday at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

   That made it two straight team crowns for North Carolina, which closed the fall portion of the wraparound 2023-2024 season with a victory in the four-team St. Andrews Links Collegiate at Old Course. It was only four teams, but coming as it did at the home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, made it special.

   Neff took over for Jan Mann, who had spent more than a decade at the helm of the North Carolina program, in the fall of 2021.

   The UCF Challenge, which always draws a big field as teams get back on the golf course after college golf’s midseason pause, was originally scheduled to start Sunday and finish Tuesday, but with rain heading for South Florida, tournament officials made the decision to move up the start of the event to Saturday.

   They got two rounds in Saturday and Sunday in between storm systems and had just enough of a window to get the final round in Monday.

   North Carolina got off to a great start in Saturday’s opening round behind Megan Streicher, a sophomore from South Africa who blistered the 6,367-yard, par-72 Eagle Creek layout with a program record 8-under 64.

   It was actually records as 8-under was a record in relation to par and the 64 lowered the mark for a total by a shot, bettering the 65s posted by Krista Junkkari in the Cougar Classic in 2021 and by Streicher’s current teammate, Kayla Smith, a fifth-year player from Burlington, N.C., last fall in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational.

   Streicher’s hot start helped North Carolina take the lead in the team standings with a solid 9-under 279 in the opening round.

   The Tar Heels, who play out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, added an 8-under 280 in Sunday’s second round and took an eight-shot lead into Monday’s final round. North Carolina closed with a 1-under 287 for an 18-under 846 total that left it five shots clear of Southeastern Conference representative Kansas.

   Streicher cooled off after her blazing start as she matched par in Sunday’s second round with a 72 and closed with a 1-over 73 that left her in a tie for fourth place with a 7-under 209 total that was six shots behind the individual champion, Texas Tech’s Lauren Zaretsky, a sophomore from Canada who claimed her first collegiate victory with a 13-under 203 total.

   North Carolina failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as an eight seed at the NCAA’s Pullman Regional, but it was the second straight spring that the Tar Heels had earned a trip to regionals in Neff’s first two years at the helm. North Carolina was one of seven ACC teams that earned regional bids.

   Kansas, behind third-place individual finisher Lily Hirst, a junior from England, finished with a flourish, closing with a 9-under 279 that matched North Carolina’s opening round for the low team round of the tournament to earn runnerup honors with a 13-under 851 total.

   The Jayhawks, who were unable to advance out of the Athens Regional as a nine seed last spring, opened with a 1-under 287 and added a 3-under 285 in Sunday’s second round.

   It was two shots back to another ACC entry as Miami finished in third place with an 11-under 853 total. After opening with a 1-under 287, the Hurricanes climbed into contention with an 8-under 280 in Sunday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 286 total.

   Three teams, tournament host UCF, two-time reigning Coastal Athletic Association champion the College of Charleston and perennial Big Ten power Northwestern, finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 8-under 856, three shots behind Miami.

   UCF, behind individual runnerup Molly Smith, a talented freshman from Westfield, Mass., bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 290 with a 4-under 284 in Sunday’s second round before finishing up with a 6-under 282.

   The Knights were the runnerup in the American Athletic Conference and failed to advance out of the Palm Beach Regional as a four seed last spring.

   Molly Smith and North Carolina’s Streicher were Zaretsky’s closest pursuers as Smith carded back-to-back 4-under 68s in the first two rounds and was tied for second place with Streicher just a shot behind the eventual champion going into the final round. Molly Smith closed with a 2-under 70 that left her three shots behind Zaretsky with a 10-under 206 total.

   College of Charleston opened with a solid 6-under 282, fell back a little with a 1-over 289 in Sunday’s second round and finished up with a 3-under 285.

   It was still known as the Colonial Athletic Association when the Cougars won the last two conference championships. They failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as an eight seed in the Athens Regional last spring.

   Northwestern bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 290 with a 4-under 284 in Sunday’s second round before closing with a solid 6-under 282.

   The Wildcats, who always seem to be playing their best golf when the postseason draws near, advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. by finishing in a tie for third place as a three seed in the Palm Beach Regional.

   Penn State, under first-year head coach Kristen Simpson, showed considerable rust from the midseason pause as the Nittany Lions opened with a 302.

   But the Big Ten representative bounced back with a 7-over 295 in Sunday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 286 in the final round to finish in 16^th place in the 18-team field with a 19-over 883 total.

   Backing up Streicher for North Carolina was Kayla Smith as she registered back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds after opening with a 1-under 71 as she finished among a group of four players tied for eighth place at 5-under 211.

   North Carolina got some nice showings from its youngsters at Eagle Creek, led by Ing Iadpluem, a freshman from Thailand who finished among the large group tied for 21^st place with a 1-under 215 total. Iadpluem matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the lineup for North Carolina were Vilde Nystrom, a sophomore from Norway, and Reagan Southerland, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga., as they landed in the group tied for 40^th place, each ending up with a 2-over 218 total.

   After struggling to a 4-over 76 in the opening round, Nystrom contributed counting 1-under 71s in each of the last two rounds. Southerland matched par in the opening round with a 72 and was actually the low Tar Heel in Sunday’s second round with a 3-under 69 before struggling a little in the final round, signing for a 5-over 77.

   Texas Tech’s Zaretsky matched North Carolina’s Streicher in the opening round with a scintillating 8-under 64 of her own. She backed off a little with a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s second round that gave her a one-shot edge over Streicher and UCF’s Molly Smith going into the final round.

   Zaretsky kept her foot on the gas with a final round of 4-under 68 to finish at 13-under and three shots clear of Molly Smith.

   Kansas’ Hirst finished a shot behind Molly Smith in third place with a 9-under 207 total as she sandwiched a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s second round with a pair of 4-under 68s.

   Joining North Carolina’s Streicher in the tie for fourth place at 7-under 209, two shots behind Hirst was Miami’s Sara Byrne, a junior from Ireland. Byrne carded back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Kent State’s Veronika Kedronova, a freshman from the Czech Republic, and Nebraska’s Kelli Ann Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, finished in a tie for sixth place, each ending up a shot behind Streicher and Byrne with a 6-under 210 total.

   Kedronova had the best round of the day in the final round, a 5-under 67 that enabled her to climb the leaderboard. She had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s second round. Strand added a 4-under 68 in Sunday’s second round to her opening-round 70 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Joining North Carolina’s Kayla Smith in the foursome tied for eighth place at 5-under 211, a shot behind Kedronova and Strand, were Hirst’s Kansas teammate, Jordan Rothman, a freshman from South Africa, Michigan State’s Katie Lu, a junior from Plainsboro, N.J., and the College of Charleston’s Adrian Anderson, a sophomore from Murrells Inlet, S.C.

   After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Rothman posted a 3-under 69 in Sunday’s second before closing with a 70 to give the Jayhawks a second finisher in the top 10.

   Lu was steady for the Spartans as she registered a pair of 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 71. Anderson opened with a solid 4-under 68 and matched par in Sunday’s second round with a 72 before closing with a 71.

   Leading the way for Penn State was junior Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus, as she finished among the group tied for 40^th place with a 2-over 218 total. Coming off a solid fall campaign, Cox bounced back from an opening-round 75 with a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Drew Nienhaus, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., and Carlota Garcia, a graduate student from Spain, finished in the group tied for 55^th place, each landing on 5-over 221.

   Nienhaus opened with a 4-over 76 and added a 74 in Sunday’s second round before contributing a 1-under 71 to the Nittany Lions’ strong finish. Garcia bounced back from a 5-over 77 in the opening round with a 74 in Sunday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70 that made her low Nittany Lion for the day.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a fifth-year senior from France in the final spring of an outstanding career at Penn State, struggled in the second round with a 79 after she had opened with a 2-over 74. Delavallade closed with a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 70^th place with a 226 total.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Victoria Tip-Aucha, a senior from Vienna, Va. via Thailand, as she finished in 94^th place with a 233 total. Tip-Aucha struggled in the opening round with an 84 and added a 5-over 77 in Sunday’s second round before finding her groove by matching par in the final round with a counting 72.