Martinez's season-best round has UNCG up to 13th at Bryan National
BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – Ana Lucia Martinez shot a season-best 2-over-74 on Saturday to help the UNCG women's golf team to a 13th-place standing in the 17-team Bryan National Collegiate with one round to play. The Spartans are seeking their best finish in the event in 11 years.
Martinez bogeyed four of six holes at one stage Saturday but finished strong, earning birdies on two of her final four. The score was her best since a 73 in the second round of the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C., this past October.
Wake Forest leads the field by one stroke over the first-round pace-setter, Tennessee. Virginia and Duke are tied for third. The Blue Devils' Laetitia Beck has a two-day total of 143 and owns the top spot among individuals.
Through 36 holes at Bryan Park's Champions Course, the Spartans lead four clubs that outrank them nationally according to golfstat.com: No. 40 Northwestern, No., 58 NC State, No. 83 College of Charleston and No. 122 UNC Wilmington. UNCG occupies 127th among 246 Division I teams in the computer rankings.
The Bryan, now in its 14th year, features 13 of the nation's top 50 teams, and UNCG will try to preserve or enhance its current position when play resumes by shotgun start at 8:30 Sunday morning. A standing of 13th or better would give the Spartans victories over four or more opponents in the Bryan for the first time since they took 10th in a 15-team field in 2000.
Courtney Taylor rebounded from a first-round 82 to join Martinez at 74 on Saturday as the Spartans bested their Friday score by three shots and moved up one position in the standings as a result.
BRYAN NATIONAL COLLEGIATE
Champions Course, Bryan Park (6,386 yards, par-72)
Browns Summit, N.C.
Team scores
1. Wake Forest 294-295—589; 2. Tennessee 288-302—590; T3. Duke 301-293—594; T3. Virginia 296-298—594; 5. North Carolina 295-302—597; 6. Ohio State 306-295—601; 7. Louisville 303-303—606; 8. Michigan State 305-302—607; 9. Vanderbilt 299-308—608; 10. Washington 304-305—609; 11. South Carolina 305-305—610; 12. Florida State 308-303—611; 13. UNCG 311-308—619; 14. Northwestern 307-313—620; 15. NC State 311-315—626; 16. UNC Wilmington 311-328—639; 17. College of Charleston 321-326—627.
Individual scores
Top 10: 1. Laetitia Beck (Duke) 72-71—143; T2. Calle Nielson (Virginia) 72 -73—145; T2. Michelle Shin (Wake Forest) 70-75—145; T2. Allie White (North Carolina) 74-71—145; T5. Laura Anderson (Louisville) 71-75—146; T5. Kaitlyn Rohrback (Tennessee) 72-74—146; T5. Samantha Swinehart (South Carolina) 73-73—146; T8. Kim Donovan (Duke) 74-73—147; T8. Catherine O'Donnell (North Carolina) 73-74—147; T8. Erica Popson (Tennessee) 70-77—147; T8. Portland Rosen (Virginia) 73-74—147; T8. Cheyenne Woods (Wake Forest) 75-72—147.
UNCG golfers: T28. Ana Martinez 77-74—151; T40. Erica Creed 75-79—154; 54. Courtney Taylor 82-75—156; T75. Lizzie Bundy 81-81—162; 86. Begona Sarabia 78-88—166.
- UNCG -