University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Bryan National Collegiate Day 1
No. 24 Carolina To Close Regular Season At Bryan National Collegiate
April 5, 2018 | Women's Golf
BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. - The No. 24 University of North Carolina women's golf team heads out to the Bryan Park Champions Course Friday-Sunday, April 6-8, to complete the 2017-18 regular season at the Bryan National Collegiate, hosted by Wake Forest. This will be the final completion for the Tar Heels before they begin postseason play with the ACC Championships from April 21-23.
Finishing the year at the Brian National Collegiate is not new to Carolina. In each of the last 22 years, the Tar Heels have competed in the tournament as one of the final two competitions of the regular season, with the tournament coming at the very end of the regular season 16 times.
Last season, the Tar Heels tied for fourth at the Bryan National Collegiate, finishing at 8-over-par 872. Senior Bryana Nguyen claimed the highest finish of her career as she finished second at 7-under-par 209 - the lowest score of her career and the sixth-lowest score in UNC history. Sophomore Brynn Walker finished tied for 31st at 8-over par and junior Kelly Whaley tied for 42nd at 10-over par.
Carolina is coming off its best performance of the season in the Briar's Creek Invitational, where the team captured the first tournament title of the year and the 45th in program history. The team finished with the second-lowest score in school history at 16-under-par 848 to clear the field by six shots. Junior Kelly Whaley shot 12-under-par 204 to win the individual title by five strokes and break her own UNC records for 54-hole tournament score and score vs. par. She also became the first Tar Heel to ever shoot in the 60s in each of the three rounds (68-67-69) and the first Tar Heel since Catherine O'Donnell (2009-12) to win multiple tournament titles in a career.
Fans can follow @uncwomensgolf on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the tournament. UNC Women's Golf is also on Facebook. A recap and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.
THE FIELD
Auburn (22), Charlotte, Clemson, Colorado State, Furman (7), Georgetown, Kentucky, Miami (18), Michigan, North Carolina (24), NC State, Notre Dame, South Carolina (9), Tennessee, UCF, UNCG, Virginia, Wake Forest (21).
TAR HEEL STARTING FIVE
Carolina's starting five will be junior Kelly Whaley (Farmington, Conn.), senior Bryana Nguyen (Columbia, Md.), sophomore Brynn Walker (St. David's, Pa.), freshman Ava Bergner (Ketsch, Germany) and sophomore Mariana Ocano (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Junior Clementina Rodriguez (Caracas, Venezuela) and senior Cheni Xu (Zhuhai, China) will also compete as individuals.
THE TOURNAMENT VENUE
The Bryan National Collegiate will be played at the Bryan Park Champions Course in Browns Summit, N.C. The course has a par-72, 6,386-yard set-up.
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
The Bryan National Collegiate is a 54-hole tournament. Due to anticipated inclement weather, two rounds are now scheduled for Friday, April 6 (shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.) and one round to be played on either Saturday, April 7, or Sunday, April 8. The Tar Heels will tee off Friday with No. 7 Furman and No. 21 Wake Forest.
LIVE SCORING
Live results from the the Bryan National Collegiate will be available at Golfstat.com.
HEAD COACH JAN MANN - COMMENTS
On why she likes playing in the Bryan National Collegiate at the end of the season
"I don't know why I like this tournament because it seems like every year we have terrible weather conditions. But in all honesty, it is a championship golf course. It really challenges the teams. It is usually a very strong field. Dianne Dailey of Wake Forest and I have been great friends forever. She actually mentored me when I got into coaching, and we have had a friendship ever since. They, of course, play in our event every year and it is a reciprocal thing. It is great preparation for the ACCs. I think it prepares us well because of the championship caliber of the course."
On Bryana Nguyen's confidence after her second-place finish in the 2017 Bryan National Collegiate
"Bryana always handles competition well. For Bryana, the biggest thing is or her to get into a very good rhythm, and watching her this week, I've seen her get into her rhythm. If she stays relaxed and confident and keeps a good rhythm, from her putting all the way through to her driver, she will do really well."
On how she feels about the team with one regular-season tournament to go
"I hope that coming off of Briar's Creek that the team has a level of confidence that they should have, but it is easier to be confident when you have been successful. They really enjoyed Briar's Creek, they enjoyed winning and you could see a boost in confidence as they played that tournament. I was very pleased in the fact that the weather was an issue and we weren't ever sure that we would get in the last round, but to go into the final round with a one-shot lead and to play as confidently as they did, they seemed to really enjoy the challenge. It was good to see."
Players Mentioned
