The ACC has the second-most top 25 teams in women’s golf, with six, and the most top 15 teams, with five, out of any conference. The field for the ACC Championships in Greensboro, N.C., this past weekend was loaded.
No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Florida State, No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 12 North Carolina and then-No. 13 Virginia made up the top five seeds. No. 23 Duke, Southern Methodist, California, Clemson and NC State rounded out the top 10, while Virginia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Boston College and Notre Dame sat at the bottom in that order.
The first day of competition looked promising for No. 11 Virginia. The Cavaliers shot one-under par across the first two rounds, good enough for third place in the tournament heading into the second day. Virginia was one of only three teams, along with No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 Florida State, to shoot under par on the first day, but 11 strokes still separated it from second place.
In one of the more impressive team efforts of the season, Virginia managed the second-best round of the entire tournament in the third round, shooting 11-under par to completely erase the gap between them and the Seminoles, who shot even par, and entering a tie for second place.
Lower down in the stroke play standings, Virginia Tech finished in seventh. That granted the Cavaliers the full women’s golf point in the intrasport Commonwealth Clash, tipping them over the threshold to claim victory. In the last 10 years of the event, not counting the shortened 2019-20 season, Virginia has won six times and Virginia Tech has won only three times.
More braggings rights over the Hokies ended up being the highlight of the weekend, as the Cavaliers were eliminated in the next phase of the conference tournament. After stroke play, the top six teams entered match play, where the schools’ golfers faced off directly against one another. Virginia was matched up against California.
The matchup came down to the wire. Through four of the individual pairings, the score was tied 2-2. The deciding match, between Virginia graduate student Rebecca Skoler and California freshman Claudia Lara Maravitlles, entered a playoff. Skoler lost in the playoff, giving the Golden Bears the 3-2 victory.
While it was a disappointing finish for Virginia, there was plenty to like about the team’s individual performances. Skoler, although she lost in match play, had a good showing for the tournament. She finished tied for 11th in stroke play and shot one-over par overall, managing a two-over 74 in the first, a one-under 71 in the second and an even-par 72 to end.
Senior Amanda Sambach finished second overall with an outstanding 12-under par tournament. She improved with each round, shooting a one-under 71 and a four-under 68 before ending with the best individual round of the entire tournament with a seven-under 65 in the third. Sambach won in match play.
Another senior who turned in a fantastic performance was Megan Propeck, who finished tied for fifth overall, shooting two-under for the tournament. She was remarkably consistent throughout, beginning with an even-par 72 and ending with back-to-back one-under 71s. Propeck also won in match play.
Graduate student Chloe Shiavone lost in match play but tied for 19th overall and shot four-over in stroke play. She started solid with a one-over 73 and stumbled in the second round with a six-over 78 but recovered with a three-under 69 in the third.
Sophomore Jaclyn LaHa had a rough showing. She tied for 52nd out of 77 competitors, shooting a 12-over, and lost in match play. She shot a four-over 76 in the first round, a three-over 75 in the second and a five-over 77 in the third.
The Cavaliers may not have gotten everything they wanted in Greensboro, but they perhaps submitted a good enough effort to maintain their momentum. They will host the NCAA Charlottesville Regional May 5-7.
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