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Zhou leads UNC women's golf to sixth-place finish at Ruth's Chris Invitational

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UNC sophomore Jennifer Zhou takes a practice swing at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. UNC placed sixth out of 18 teams at the three day tournament. Zhou finished 5th place overall, her second best in her collegiate career. 

It didn't come easy for the North Carolina women’s golf team during the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at the UNC Finley Golf Course. 

The team had to play against a talented field of 17 other schools without usual starter senior Brynn Walker, who was participating in an LPGA Qualifying Tournament in Florida. And on the last day, the Tar Heels had to battle through adverse weather.

Despite these challenges, head coach Jan Mann was pleased with her team’s sixth-place performance.  

“Overall I was very proud of the team,” she said. "They worked hard.”

The Tar Heels had a solid opening round, shooting a combined 4-under-par which put them in a tie for fourth place. 

Sophomore Nicole Lu started the tournament in strong form, recording a 3-under-par 69, a career-best round in college. She was the team leader heading into the second day. 

UNC continued the solid play into the second round with another strong outing. The team was led by sophomore Jennifer Zhou, who shot a 69 to move up the leaderboard. 

The Tar Heels as a whole shot 3-under-par, but fell to sixth place as other teams surged up the leaderboard. 

Still, North Carolina remained in contention going into the final round. 

On the final day, North Carolina dealt with rain coming down throughout the round. Zhou had a more difficult time staying under par, especially on that day's back nine, but Mann didn't believe the weather had anything to do with her dip in performance.

“These kids are used to playing in the rain,” she said. 

Zhou began the last day of competition on fire. She earned an impressive three birdies in the first four holes, but she struggled through the final 14 holes, only getting one birdie. 

She completed the round at even-par, heading into the clubhouse with a final score of 5-under-par for the tournament. Her fifth-place finish of all individuals was the second-best of her collegiate career.  

“(Jennifer)'s a solid player," Mann said. "She’s very determined. She’s a great ball-striker, a very good putter. So, when she gets it going, she can play very well.”

After being held out of the last tournament because of an illness, Zhou was participating in her first tournament in over a month. According to her coach, the time off could have hindered her start. 

“I think at the beginning of this event she was probably a little bit nervous, but she got over the nerves and did well,” Mann said.

Behind Zhou, first-year Krista Junkkari finished the tournament even, putting her in a tie for 25th overall. Lu was 2-over-par for the weekend, earning her a 32nd place overall finish. Junior Ava Bergner and first-year Kayla Smith were close behind, going 3-over-par and 4-over-par on the weekend, respectively. 

As a group, the Tar Heels recorded 55 birdies, the second-most among the 18 teams in the field. They also remained in contention for nearly the whole tournament and improved upon their seventh-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship a few weeks ago. 

All of this was done without Walker, one of the best players in their regular lineup. 

Mann was very encouraged by these performances, recognizing that there is a lot of potential in her team with plenty of competitions still left on the schedule. 

“I think they can taste that they are a very good team,” she said. 

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@ryanheller23

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com