By Brandon Boyer, Staff Writer

Published in print Apr. 8, 2015

The UNCG Women’s golf team teed off this weekend at the Bryan Park Champions Course to co-host the 2015 Bryan National Collegiate golf tournament.

And after posting their lowest 54-hole score since 2013 at the MountainView Collegiate in Arizona in mid March, Women’s Golf had a tough weekend in their home town.

The event, which was hosted here in Greensboro with fellow co-host, Wake Forest University, saw UNC-Greensboro finish 18 out of the 18 teams who participated in the tournament.

The Bryan National Collegiate was a heavy-hitting affair, featuring 15 college teams ranked in the Top 100 in the nation, five of which were ranked in the Top 25, according to one of golf’s most regarded magazines, Golfweek.

Those teams that were in the tournament this weekend included: No. 9 Northwestern, No.  12 Virginia, No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 18 Vanderbilt, and No. 19 Florida.

The tournament also featured sophomore Sierra Sims of Wake Forest, who is on the shortlist to win the ANNIKA Award this year.

The ANNIKA is an award given to the player of the year, as voted on by fellow golfers, coaches and members of the golf media.

On day one, which began for UNC-Greensboro at 9:05 a.m., the team’s assigned tee time, saw the unit finished 49 over par.

For Head Coach Janell Howland and the rest of the team, Emily Kurey was the team’s standout for day one.

The sophomore from Alpharetta, Georgia posted the best individual score at 10-over par. Her scored placed Kurey tied for 75th overall.

After day one, Coach Howland shared some of her thoughts on her team’s performance on Friday.

“Today, we let the weather conditions affect us,” said first-year head coach Janell Howland in a UNCGSpartans.com interview.

“We stopped doing the little things we have done so well this year” Howland added.

Kurey continued to lead the team with her steady pace of play of the weekend, posting a 19-over par after day two and 28-over par at the conclusion of play on Sunday afternoon.

Kurey’s performance placed her tied for 80 individually with Victoria Drechsler of College of Charleston and Jessica Halgwood of GRU Augusta.

The conclusion of the Bryan National Tournament on Sunday saw the final home round tee-offs for seniors Berglind Bjornsdottir and Andrea Rangel.

Bjornsdottir closed out her final tournament at home tied for 87th place, as she finished 23-over par.

Rangel finished tied 92nd overall at 30-over par.

The Blue and Gold played solidly through all three days, sitting in 18th place throughout the event, 134-over par.

Away from the results of UNC-Greensboro, the tournament was decided in a playoff round between fellow co-hosts Wake Forest, and  ACC competitor, Virginia.

On late Sunday afternoon, The Cavaliers took home the tournament title after beating the Demon Deacons on a second playoff hole.

For singular play, Briana Mao of the Virginia Cavaliers took home individual honors as she finished first overall after three rounds, finishing at even on par 216.

With the regular season coming to a close at the Bryan National Collegiate, the Blue and Gold look forward to the Southern Conference Championships, which will be held at the Savannah Quarters Golf Club in Savannah, Georgia from April 12 through the 14.

The most notable headline for the impending tournament will be watching to see if Chattanooga will able to defend their title and go for their sixth consecutive Southern Conference tournament victory.

Categories: Sports