Sports > April 24, 2008

By Hailey Robbins | Staff writer

The women’s golf team headed to compete in the ACC Championship in Daytona, Fla., April 18-20. After finishing second last year, the Lady Deacs entered with high hopes, but after the third round they finished in fourth place showing.

“As a team we did not play as well as we had hoped, especially with such a strong performance the year before,” freshman Allie Bodemann, now placed eight said. “Going into the (ACC Championship) the coaches and team expected a lot because we think we are a strong team.”

At the end of the first round, the Deacons were 15 strokes off the lead, held by Virginia. Freshman Natalie Sheary led the team, ranked third overall, with a score of one-under par. Bodemann led the team in birdies on the first day, tied for 11th overall.

Although bettering their first round score, the Deacons slipped to fourth overall after the second round. They were 17 strokes behind both Duke and Virginia.

Bodemann concluded the second day two under par, advancing her five places into sixth overall. Sheary slipped slightly, finishing five over par, falling to 11th place overall, but still led the Deacs as the leading scorer, with an average of 74 per 18 holes.

Junior Nannette Hill rose from 22nd to 19th, finishing in the top 25 five consecutive times. Junior Jean Chua made the largest individual ranking change, bounding upwards from 32nd place to 22nd with her three-over par. Senior Jordan Craig also moved up in ranking after the second round.

The final round of the tournament proved difficult for the Deacons as a team, but individually finished with a top five and top 10 overall finish, by freshman Sheary and Bodemann respectively.

Sheary finished with her fifth lowest 18 hole total of the season with her two-over par, finishing fifth overall. Bodemann concluded the tournament in eight place, five-over par. Hill finished in 17th overall, a jump from her finish of 24th in last year’s championship. Chua fell slightly to 25th overall, and Craig ended in a tie for 28th place.

“As a team we have been working on improving short game and will probably continue to do so the next couple weeks until regionals,” Bodemann said.

“Our game keeps getting better and better and I am looking forward to next season.”

Duke edged out University of Virginia for the championship by one stroke, coming down to the final hole as both teams remained tied. Duke’s victory stole Virginia’s chance at their first ever ACC Championship.