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.