Throughout the season, sophomore golfing sensation Leticia Ras-Anderica spent her time on the greens and moving up the ladder.
The talented Spaniard led the way for Miami this spring. In fact, at all three major spring tournaments Ras-Anderica finished in the top 10.
The ACC Championships in late April were no different, as Ras-Anderica finished in third with scores of 74, 72 and 75 (+8 total).
Miami also used a strong performance from Rika Park tie for fifth overall by the tournament’s close.
Awaiting Miami in Greensboro, N.C., was a strong field of nine schools from the ACC represented by 45 of the nation’s top golfers.
Breezy and overcast conditions set the stage for round one at Sedgefield Country Club, where the Duke Blue Devils looked to add to their collection of 17 ACC tournament titles.
The Blue Devils finished the opening day with a seven-stroke lead. Miami was far behind in ninth.
The race was all but over come Saturday morning, but as Duke seemed to pull away with the team lead, Miami’s squad made a jump up to seventh place.
The Canes closed out Saturday’s second round at 50-over par (618).
Impressively, Ras-Anderica recorded an eagle in each of her first two rounds.
“It felt way easier this year, the greens changed to Bermuda grass and weren’t so fast, which gave me more control on my putts,” she said.
Park started the day in 18th place, and finished in a tie for 12th with Augusta James of N.C. State.
She made a five-stroke improvement (77 to 72) from Friday to Saturday, but Miami struggled as a whole on the back nine.
“We didn’t finish how we wanted, we were in fourth with four holes to go and had a rough finish,” assistant coach John Koskinen said. “We just need to stop making careless mistakes.”
The Canes finished tied for fifth with North Carolina with team totals of 924 after all three rounds.
Overall, Duke held its lead and ended 24 strokes clear of second-place N.C. State. The Blue Devils also had four players finish in the individual top 10.
It was the second consecutive title for Duke.
The Virginia Cavaliers fell to third place after an uncharacteristically rough outing from Brittany Altomare.
Still, she finished No. 1 overall in the tournament with a 70 (two under par) on Friday, 71 on Saturday and 76 on Sunday.
Head coach Patti Rizzo sees the weekend as a step in the right direction.
“We’re really excited about this. The fifth-place finish should be enough to secure us a bid into the NCAA regional,” she said. “I’m not sure when the NCAA selection show is, but we’re all excited and looking forward to it.”