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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's golf finishes 10th at Tar Heel Invitational

A 10th place finish was all the Tar Heels could muster at their home course, finishing in the middle of the pack of 18 teams including the champion, Duke.

Bryana Nguyen led the fight for UNC, firing a three-day total of 221 (75-72-74) to tie for 21st overall. Leslie Cloots followed closely behind shooting 223 (75-75-73) over the weekend to tie for 27th .

Saturday’s second round action was postponed late in the day due to rain, which forced a few teams, including the Tar Heels, to finish their second rounds Sunday morning before beginning the third round.

“I actually felt like it was an advantage, playing three or four extra holes,” Cloots said. “It was a nice warmup.”

The Blue Devils’ two under par performance Saturday proved to be the difference in the tournament, stepping up big in the worst of the weather conditions.

The Tar Heels were eyeing their first victory of the season during their first home invitational of the season, but even with a 10th place finish, Coach Jan Mann wasn’t disappointed with the outcome.

“You always want to win obviously, but we have a young team, and we had some good spots out there, along with some rough spots,” Mann said. “Growing pains are definitely expected when you’re young like us.”

Part of this young UNC team is freshman Nguyen — the Maryland native had plenty of members of her family out supporting her while she took home the Tar Heels’ top finish on their home course.

But even though Nguyen had three rounds in the low- to mid-70s, she still wasn’t thrilled with the way she played this weekend.

“(My scores were) a little higher than I anticipated since it was our home course, but with the conditions considered, I felt like it was a good weekend,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen felt good about her putting this weekend, which was definitely assisted by playing this course often.

“I felt like my putting saved me,” Nguyen said. “ I made a few thirty-footers that really helped me keep my round together.”

Cloots said putting was her strong suit too, especially with the tough conditions playing a factor.

“I felt very confident with a good stroke on the greens, especially on my short putts,” Cloots said.

Mann cited ball striking — typically the second shot to the green — as an area UNC will look to improve on.

“It’s varied a little bit with each player,” Mann said.

“But consistent ball striking with our irons is definitely something to work on.”

sports@dailytarheel.com

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