CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Virginia Tech's Becca DiNunzio and Emily Mahar both finished in red figures over their 54 holes to propel the Hokies to a third place finish at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational, which concluded Sunday afternoon at UNC Finley Golf Course (par 72, 6,393 yards).
After producing a school record, 12-under 564 through 36 holes, Tech's momentum stalled Sunday as the Hokies returned a 7-over 295 to the clubhouse. Their terrific play the first two days should not go unnoticed as they defeated multiple ranked teams in the standings, including Alabama, Kentucky, Duke and Michigan.
Wake Forest topped the leaderboard at 17-under 847, led by individual medalist Rachel Kuehn's 11-under 205. Clemson claimed second at 7-under 857, two clear of Tech (-5). Alabama (-2), Kentucky (-1) and Duke (-1) rounded out the top five.
DiNunzio, who fired a 6-under 210 and tied for third, bested her previous 54-hole record of 212, which she shot three times, including twice on par-72 layouts last season (Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate and Valspar Augusta Invitational).
The junior had a record-tying round in Saturday's second round where she totaled seven birdies on her way to a 6-under 66. With that scorecard, DiNunzio tied teammate Alyssa Montgomery and Elizabeth Bose for the 18-hole school record.
DiNunzio's third place showing is also her career-best finish as a Hokie, eclipsing her sixth-place finish at the Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate in February 2021. She recorded 13 birdies to lead Tech.
Mahar tied for eighth by signing for a 5-under 211. It was the first tournament she finished in the red since the Stanford Regional last May and was two strokes away from tying her 54-hole personal best of 7-under she shot at the Princess Anne Invitational in October 2019. Mahar tied for the tournament lead in par-4 scoring at 3-under.
Making her debut in the Tech lineup, Symone Henriques tied for 43rd at 4-over 220. She opened the tournament with a season-best, 3-under 69. Joining Henriques in a tied for 43rd was Keerattriya Foocharoen. Freshman Ginnie Lee rounded out the scoring at 9-over 225 to tie for 64th.
The Hokies conclude their fall portion of the 2021-22 schedule Oct. 29-31 at the Landfall Tradition hosted by UNC Wilmington. The 54-hole event will be contested at Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina.
