Tar Heels Gear Up For Spring Slate

Monday, February 17

Melbourne, Fla.

All Day

North Carolina

Moon Golf Invitational

Photo by: Andy Mead

February 13, 2020 | Women's Golf

CHAPEL HILL - The North Carolina women's golf team heads into the 2020 spring season with a refreshed mindset after a fall season with three top-ten team finishes in four events, highlighted by an individual-best, fifth-place performance by sophomore Jennifer Zhou at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational.

The spring season starts Monday, Feb. 17, with the Moon Golf Invitational at Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Florida. Krista Junkkari, Mariana Ocano, Kayla Smith, Brynn Walker and Jennifer Zhou will represent the Tar Heels in the season's inaugural event. In addition, Nicole Lu will compete as an individual for Carolina.

"It is a good course to start our spring season on," head coach Jan Mann said about the Duran Golf Club. "The design is a links style course with wide fairways and undulating greens. There is a fair amount of bunkers and water on the course but it should be a very scorable course as long as the wind stays manageable."

FALL REWIND
Jennifer Zhou had an excellent fall, finishing with a 71.78 stroke average for the season. A member of the 2018-19 All-ACC Women's Golf Team, Zhou is poised to have a strong spring following her second collegiate top-5 finish at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational. Leading the tournament with 16 birdies, the Kunming, China native pieced together a 5-under-par, 211 (70-69-72).

Freshmen Krista Junkkari and Kayla Smith splashed onto the scene in 2019 with the second- and third-best stroke averages, respectively, on the team. Junkkari, a native of Kouvola, Finland, recorded a top-15 finish in her first collegiate tournament, where she tallied a 3-under-par, 213 (70-71-72) at the Cougar Classic. Mirroring her fellow first-year teammate, Smith also notched a top-15 finish in her collegiate tournament debut, where she scored a 1-over-par 217 (73-70-74) at the Mason Rudolph Championship.

Sophomore Nicole Lu shined her brightest at the Landfall Tradition, the last tournament of the fall season. Consistency was paramount at the ever-challenging Country Club of Landfall, and Lu's three-straight rounds of 73 were the second-lowest in the tournament for the Tar Heels. Preceding a strong performance to close the season, Lu recorded an opening round, 69 in the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational. Her first-round performance marked a collegiate career best for the sophomore. Lu's previous best collegiate round came in the first round of the 2019 Tar Heel Classic, in which she carded a 2-under-par 70.

Senior Brynn Walker recorded a 4-over-par, 220 (69-79-72) for her best finish of the season at the Mason Rudolph Championship, after returning from competition at LPGA Q-School in the fall. Walker, a native of St. Davids, Pa., led the field of 81 golfers in birdies (7) and ranked second of all competitors on par-5 holes (-4) in the opening round.

Ava Bergner had a solid fall season, competing in all four events for the Tar Heels. She averaged a stroke average of 75.50 and recorded her best finishes in the Mason Rudolph Championship and Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational.

Senior Mariana Ocano competed in two tournaments individually while freshmen Aleks Golde made her collegiate debut at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational.

Once again, the team's fall highlight came at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational where Carolina placed sixth at 6-under-par 858.

Carolina saw a fall season with ups and downs, but the Tar Heels six top-25 finishes shows promise for the spring 2020 season. As the team prepared for its upcoming season, the coaching staff utilized technology to pinpoint areas of improvement for each Tar Heel.

"The team uses a statistical program to track each student athlete's performance and progress not only when they are competing in tournaments but in qualifying and practice," Mann said. "We use the data to pinpoint areas that each individual needs to work on to make the quickest and most significant impact in improving their overall game and preparing them for each of our upcoming tournaments. The atmosphere on the team is one of confidence and of being prepared. They are excited and ready to tee it up!"

LOOKING FORWARD
Turning the calendar to 2020, North Carolina begins the spring at the Moon Golf Invitational, hosted by Louisville Feb. 17-18 in Melbourne, Fla. Following a trip to the Sunshine State, the Tar Heels return to one of the premiere events in collegiate golf, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. Known as the "Greatest Show in Women's Collegiate Golf," the Tar Heels will compete from March 6-8 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

During spring break, Carolina will travel to the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. Finally, the Tar Heels wrap up the regular season at the Bryan National Collegiate, hosted by Wake Forest April 5-7 in Brown Summit, North Carolina.

The postseason begins when the Tar Heels take to Pawley's Island, S.C. for the ACC Championships on April 23-26. New in 2020, the ACC Championship will culminate with match play to crown a league champion.

Following the ACC Championship, the NCAA regional tournaments will be hosted by Georgia, Washington State, Notre Dame and North Carolina State from May 11-13. The NCAA Championships will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Grayhawk Golf Club from May 22-27.

2020 WOMEN'S GOLF SPRING SCHEDULE
Feb. 17-18     Moon Golf Invitational (Melbourne, Fla.)
Mar. 6-8       Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Hilton Head, S.C.)
Mar. 13-15     Clover Cup (Mesa, Ariz.)
Apr. 5-7        Bryan National Collegiate (Brown Summit, N.C.)
Apr. 24-26    ACC Championships (Pawley's Island, S.C.)
May 11-13       NCAA Regionals TBD
May 22-27    NCAA Championships (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Visit GoHeels.com for the complete schedule.

Stay up to date with Carolina Women's Golf by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.