The No. 3 Virginia women’s golf team used a strong final round Sunday to push its way to a second-place finish in the 18-team Bryan National Collegiate, a three-day tournament held in Greensboro, N.C. that featured nine top-25 teams.
Although their 1-under 287 Sunday was the lowest round of the tournament, the Cavaliers could not overcome a 14-shot deficit from Friday’s opening round to No. 9 LSU, which walked away with a four-shot victory at 23-over 887.
Sophomore Calle Nielson anchored the Cavalier’s solid final round with a 5-under 67 score, the lowest single-round of the event. It marked the second time this spring she tied the school scoring record. She also achieved the feat three weeks ago at the LSU Classic, where she tied for first place and earned ACC Player of the Month honors. Her round Sunday began with a bogey at the par-4 fifth hole, but she quickly bounced back with birdies on holes seven, eight and nine. The rest of her round included four more birdies and just one bogie.
“It was an up and down round,” Nielson said. “I started off really bad and was really frustrated but then I finally held it together.”
Senior Jennie Arseneault tied Nielson for a sixth-place finish individually, putting together three steady rounds of 73-76-72 to finish 5-over. It was the 10th top-10 finish of her career. The two teammates finished six shots behind LSU sophomore Megan McChrystal, who took medalist honors.
“Of course I’m disappointed we didn’t win,” Arseneault said. “But I think we made a really good comeback. None of us think we had a really solid tournament, so I think it’s pretty good that we only lost by four and none of us even think that we played well.”
Finishing closely behind Nielson and Arseneault was senior Lene Krog, whose final round 72 gave her a 13th-place finish at 10-over 226. Junior Whitney Neuhauser closed with a 76 to tie Krog at 10-over, and senior Kristen Simpson finished 35th at 14-over 230. Sophomore Joy Kim, playing as a non-scoring individual, placed 74th with a 239 total.
Ultimately, it was Virginia’s slow start that prevented the team from winning the first-place trophy, as its opening round 304 was much higher than LSU’s 290. Cavalier golfers attributed the deficit partially to an unlucky tee time, as LSU’s early time of play did not witness the same level of high winds that hindered Virginia’s efforts in the afternoon.
Adding to the unlucky circumstances, Virginia coach Kim Lewellen noted that it was the first time that her team was forced to compete in three consecutive rounds since the LSU Classic in mid-March, as the first two rounds of last week’s Liz Murphey Classic were rained out.
“We haven’t been able to play as much competitive golf as I think the girls would like to have,” Lewellen said. “So I think having these three days to compete, each day we got a little bit better, a little bit mentally tougher. I think we needed the three days of competition to set us up for ACCs.”
With the ACC Championships beginning in less than two weeks, Virginia golfers are focusing on one of their two most important goals — to steal the conference crown from Duke, which has won the past 13 years. Ranked No. 1 in the ACC and third in the country, the Cavaliers seem poised to achieve the feat. Despite Duke’s longtime stranglehold on the women’s golf world, Virginia players insist that the Blue Devils are not even their biggest concern heading into the tournament.
“I think we’re looking more at Wake Forest than we’re even looking at Duke,” Arseneault said. “Duke hasn’t had a very good year, so I don’t think they’re our biggest competition this year.”
Duke edged Virginia by just one shot at last year’s conference tournament, the closest any team has come to beating Duke in the past 13 years. With Nielson, who has either led or tied as the team’s scoring leader in the last four tournaments, and a wealth of depth and experience, Lewellen and her players are confident that this is their year to succeed.
“We have a lot of good players,” Lewellen said. “And any one of them that we take to a tournament can step up to the plate and shoot a low number. That’s nice to have on any golf team, [and] I would say there aren’t many in the country that can do that.”
The ACC Championships will take place April 17 to 19 at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro. The NCAA regional championship will be held May 7 to 9, and the NCAA Championships are set for May 19 to 22.
“We have two goals,” Nielson said. “To win ACCs and to win a national championship. Hopefully in two weeks we’ll have accomplished one goal.”
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