PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (seminoles.com) — Florida State wrapped up the final day of stroke play in the ACC Women’s Golf Championship and advanced to the match play portion of the event with a second place finish. The team shot a 13-over par 301 in the final round, and finished stroke play with a 5-over par 869 total. Wake Forest, the ACC Stroke Play Team Champion, was the only team to finish the three rounds at under par (-1). The Demon Deacons finished five strokes ahead of Florida State after shooting even-par for the three rounds. Dukes’ Phoebe Brinker finished as the ACC individual champion title after carding a 1-under par 71 and a combined three-day total of 10-under par.
Florida State will play Duke in the first of two match play semifinals beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Wake Forest will play Virginia in the second semifinal with the winners meeting for the championship on Sunday.
“We accomplished our first goal of making match play,” said Head Coach Amy Bond. “Now we get a rematch of last year’s championship match against Duke. We are all looking forward to facing Duke again on this stage. I’m looking for all of the girls to continue to play well. They are confident and that’s something I am very happy with.”
Senior Amelia Williamson finished strong with a 1-over par 73 to end the event’s final day in stroke play format. Williamson fought hard on the back and birdied hole 18, this being her second day in a row to do so, after shooting a 1-over par on the front nine. Hole 18 was not her only birdie of the day, as she birdied holes 5 and 8 on the front. Williamson finished tied for eighth after shooting a combined 1-over par 217 for the stroke play event.
“We are all happy with the way we hung in today,” said Williamson. “For me, I worked hard to stay patient. I took what the course gave me and I as happy to make a lot of par putts. We are all excited for the challenge of playing Duke tomorrow.”
Sophomore Charlotte Heath finished 3-over par after having a hard time on the back-nine. Like Williamson, she bounced back and ended her round with a birdie on hole 18. Heath enjoyed a perfect even-par front nine, accompanied with a birdie on hole 2, as well as coming back from a double-bogey on 15 with two birdies to follow. Heath jumped one place closer to the top of the leaderboard, finishing T10, and carding a combined 2-over par 218 for all three rounds.
Senior All-American Beatrice Wallin joined the birdie club for hole 18, finishing her round with a 5-over 77. Wallin struggled on the back-nine and was only able to find two birdies today, unlike her past two days which combined for a total of six birdies, three on each day. She led her teammates, and nearly the field, in par 5 averages, combining for a -3, 4.75 average. Wallin’s final round play was the only day she finished over par, with her best performance being the previous day of 2-under. She combined for a total of 219, 3-over par and finished T13.
Sophomore Alice Hodge finished even-par coming down the three hole stretch of the back-nine. She totaled eight birdies for the tournament, capturing four in round one and four in round two. Hodge finished in a tie for 16th place and shot a 220 total, carding a 4-over par for all three rounds.
Cecilie Finne-Ipsen carded a 4-over par 76 to finish in a tie for 22nd place in the stroke play event. After finishing with a double-bogey on hole 9, she made the turn and shot a 1-over par 37 on the back. Her final three holes were her best of the tournament, capturing a birdie on hole 16 and finishing -1 for the final stretch.
Florida State finished at the top of the leaderboard for team stats on par 4’s, averaging a 4.06, +9. They came close to Wake Forest on par 5’s, scoring even-par and an accompanied average of 5.00. The Seminoles also had the most birdies for the stroke play event, combining for a total of 43 birdies, leading the 12 team field by 6. They finished -2 in their last three holes.
Florida State will continue their ACC Championship play in the match-play format of the event, beginning Saturday morning. The three teams that are advancing to the semifinals, along with Florida State, are Wake Forest, Duke, and Virginia.
The Seminoles will face Duke for the second consecutive year in match play at the ACC Championship. The Seminoles and the Blue Devils begin play at 8:00 a.m. with Virginia and Wake Forest meeting in the second semifinal with tee times beginning at 8:50.
