Sophomore Lauren Diaz-Yi of the Virginia women’s golf team took first place this weekend among all individuals at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. With a 54-hole total of 7-under 209, Diaz-Yi finished four shots clear of runner-up Vanderbilt senior Kendall Martindale to record her first collegiate victory.
Diaz-Yi’s performance broke or tied many personal records for the Thousand Oaks, California native. Sandwiched between two rounds of shooting under 70, Diaz-Yi’s second-round three-under 69 was a new career best 18-hole score since entering college. She also shattered her personal best 54-hole score by nine strokes, having shot a 218 at last May’s NCAA East Regional, where she finished 29th.
This marks the first time a Cavalier woman has won a tournament since Brittany Altomare claimed the ACC Championship title in 2013, and the sixth-ever individual victory for Virginia. Diaz-Yi’s total was just one stroke off the all-time Cavalier low 54-hole scoring record.
As a squad, Virginia placed sixth in the Tar Heel Invite’s 18-team field, shooting 19-over 883. Duke took the tournament crown with a 2-under 862 — the first victory of the fall for the reigning ACC champion Blue Devils. Along with Wake Forest and North Carolina State, four teams from the conference finished in the top six on the weekend.
Behind Diaz-Yi, senior Briana Mao placed 19th, while junior Lauren Coughlin finished third on the team, seven shots back of Mao at 46th overall. Junior Elizabeth Szokol, freshman Sarah Kolodzik — who competed as a non-scoring individual — and freshman Lyberty Anderson rounded out the group with 64th, 80th and 85th-place finishes, respectively.
Virginia closes out the fall season from Oct. 24-26 at The Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina.
—compiled by Peter Nance
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