Kayla Smith played the third and final round in even par and the University of North Carolina women’s golf team shot its best team score of the week to finish seventh in the 2022 NCAA Ann Arbor Regional Wednesday at the University of Michigan Golf Course.
San Jose State, Virginia, Arkansas and Michigan finished in the top four spots to advance to the NCAA Championship next week in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Spartans won the regional at 10-over 862, three shots clear of Virginia. Arkansas and Michigan tied for third at 28 over, three ahead of Virginia Tech.
Carolina shot 6-over 290 today, nine strokes better than its opening-round total and 16 lower than Tuesday’s second round. The Tar Heels came into the regional as the seventh seed and posted a 54-hole total of 43-over 895, two strokes behind Pepperdine, which placed sixth.
“It’s sad our season is over,” says first-year head coach Aimee Neff, “but we had lots of positives. Krista (Junkkari) and Kayla were good all season and I was proud to see all of them fight to the finish today. Crista (Izuzquiza) and Natalia (Aseguinolaza) bounced back and played well today, which was good to see. We’re young and will continue to improve, but today shows how we are capable of playing.”
Smith, a junior from Burlington, N.C., made two birdies and two pars to shoot 71 and tied for 11th in the individual standings.
Natalia Aseguinolaza, Crista Izuzquiza and Krista Junkkari all shot 2-over 73s Wednesday and Nicole Adam finished with a 78.
Junkkari tied for 16th, her second consecutive top 20 and third-best result of the season.
Aseguinolaza and Izuzquiza both shot their best rounds of the NCAA regional today.
San Jose State’s Natasha Andrea Oon was the medalist, shooting 70-69-68 for a 6-under 207. She was five shots better than Emily Mahar of Virginia Tech, who was the only other player in the field under par.
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