Hokies place fifth at ACC Women’s Golf Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Three Virginia Tech women's golfers finished inside the Top 20 to lead the Hokies to a fifth-place finish Friday at the ACC Women's Golf Championship, which was held at the 6,089-yard, par 72 Sedgefield Country Club.
 
The fifth-place showing marks Tech's best-ever finish at the conference tournament, eclipsing the sixth place secured at the 2019 championship. After posting rounds of 294 and 289 during Thursday's opening 36 holes, the Hokies carded a 7-over 295 in their final round.
 
With the top four teams advancing to match play, Tech entered Friday with a seven-shot advantage over Virginia for the final spot. However, a slow start coupled with UVA tying for the best round of the day (2-under), proved to be too much for the Hokies to overcome.
 
Despite the sluggish start, Tech rallied on the back nine to cut its deficit to two on multiple occasions. Emily Mahar birdied three of her first six holes on the inward nine, while Alyssa Montgomery produced an eagle and two birdies to spark the comeback.
 
Becca DiNunzio paced the Hokies at 1-over 217 to tie for 11th. It was the sophomore's fifth Top 20 of the season. After going 4-over in her opening two holes of the final round, DiNunzio rattled off back-to-back birdies and an eagle on holes 3-5 to return to even-par. She added two more birdies on her back nine to finish the tournament with a team-leading 12.
 
Montgomery and Keerattriya Foocharoen both tied for 16th at 3-over 219, while Mahar tied for 24th at 7-over 223. Jessica Spicer tied for 48th at 237.
 
Led by individual medalist Gina Kim's 10-under 206, Duke clinched the No. 1 seed in Saturday's match play semifinals. The Blue Devils edged overnight leader Wake Forest by three shots following a 2-under 286 in Friday's final round.
 
Duke will face fourth-seeded Virginia in the second semifinal beginning at 9:50 a.m. No. 2 Wake Forest and No. 3 Florida State get their semifinal underway at 9 a.m.
 
Tech, ranked 16th in the latest Golfstat rankings, will await its bid to NCAA Regionals. Four predetermined sites will host the regionals, May 10-12. Ohio State, Louisville, LSU and Stanford will serve as the host schools. The NCAA Regional fields will be announced April 28 live on Golf Channel at a time to be determined.

Gallery: (4-17-2021) 2021 ACC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 2