As North Carolina women's golf Coach Sally Austin stood next to the leaderboard Sunday, ready to present the awards for the 2005 Lady Tar Heel Invitational at Finley Golf Course, she took a moment to sum up the performance of archrival Duke.
"It's kind of the same story," she joked. "And I'm getting sick of it, really."
It was all smiles for the Blue Devils, as they rolled to the title with a final round of 279, led by junior Anna Grzebien, who shot nine birdies and posted a 69 on the third day to finish at 2 under par. And the Blue Devils were the only team to finish the three-day tournament under par, at 3-under.
"They believe in themselves," Austin said. "They come out and expect to shoot under par."
Taking home the individual crown was Ashley Knoll, of Texas A&M, who dismantled the rest of the field with 13 birdies and 38 pars en route to a 10-under finish. Knoll followed her second-round score of 65 with a 70 Sunday.
Also representing the ACC in the tournament were Wake Forest, Virginia, N.C. State and Florida State, all of whom finished ahead of UNC.
Austin said her Tar Heels, who finished 14th with a cumulative score of 62-over, have some improvements to make in order to compete with teams like Duke in the future. She said the team's lack of mental toughness was a big reason for some of its missed putts.
Much of those improvements will start with freshman Lauren Hunt, who was the top finisher for the Tar Heels. Hunt turned in a final round 77 to end the tournament 13 over par in a three-way tie for 32nd place.
Hunt, who admits that "College golf is different from junior golf," felt good about her overall performance, but said she wasn't happy with her putting game. A tug on her hat, a slap to her putter and the buckling of her knees were signs of her disappointment on each of several birdie putts that Hunt watched roll painfully close to the edge of the cup, leaving her another tap-in for par each time.
