After making the long trip back home from a tournament win in Japan to start the season, the Cavaliers took comfort in a home tournament played at their home course, Birdwood at Boar’s Head Resort. However, for Virginia, their return home also meant their toughest challenge yet in this burgeoning fall season. Amongst the squads making their way to Charlottesville were some of the nation’s best, including stacked ACC opponents in North Carolina and NC State. Ultimately, the Cavaliers earned a second place finish — just behind the Tar Heels.
A par-71, 6,320-yard layout that had been playing tough all week, Birdwood was sure to separate the wheat from the chaff. The first day’s play proved this through and through, with just two teams producing a team score under 300. A 68 courtesy of junior Inez Ng and a 69 from freshman Helen Yeung hoisted UNC into first place with a score of 278.
The Cavaliers did not stray far behind, though, with a tempered round of 290. Sophomore Jaclyn LaHa put up the low round with a 71, while senior Megan Propeck, graduate student Chloe Schiavone and senior Amanda Sambach all came in at two-over 73. The day’s only loose round for Virginia came by way of a 75 from freshman Kennedy Swedick, but the Cavaliers remained in good stead going into the second day of competition.
Virginia pounced on the opposition in round two, with four of the five starters going sub-70 as the course began to look more attackable. The highlight of the day’s play was certainly Propeck’s 65, a score that left her tied for third place on the individual leaderboard. A four-under 67 from Sambach and a 69 from both LaHa and Schiavone bolstered Virginia’s strong showing. Swedick once again came up the rear, this time with a 74.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the Tar Heels accumulated a score just as impressive in round two. Virginia was only able to pick up one stroke on the table-toppers to reduce the lead to 11 shots going into the final day’s play.
The final round was much more sporadic for the Cavaliers, as Sambach was one of two players to put up a score in the sixties. Her 69 kept them close to the ascending Tar Heels, but there was simply too much dispersion in the remaining scores for them to build any significant comeback. A bloated 78 from Propeck and a measly 77 from LaHa killed any chance of a Virginia victory.
On the bright side, Swedick did extremely well to come back from a disappointing start to the tournament, shooting a 69 to jump from 33rd place to 18th place. In fact, no Cavalier player finished worse than that mark, indicating just how promising this consistent and well-rounded roster of players is.
A second-place finish certainly is an undeniable success for this Virginia squad, and they will look to build on what is now two consecutive strong finishes when they head to Wilmette, Ill., for the Windy City Collegiate Classic starting Monday.
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