Virginia's Amanda Sambach claims ACC individual title in record-setting fashion
Amanda Sambach (ACC photo)
Virginia sophomore
Amanda Sambach wrote some history Friday at the ACC Championships taking place at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC.
Sambach won the Atlantic Coast Conference's individual championship with a score of 14-under 202, which was the lowest total in the 35-year history of the championship. It was also the best 54-hole tournament score in school history.
The Pinehurst, N.C. native carded a final round 4-under 68 on Friday to finish two strokes ahead of Duke's Phoebe Brinker to claim her second individual title of the season following her victory at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in September. She is the third Virginia golfer to win the ACC individual title, following in the footsteps of former All-Americans Brittany Altomare (2013) and Lauren Coughlin (2016).
After posting rounds of 68-66 on Thursday, Sambach took a two-shot lead over Wake Forest's Rachel Kuehn into the final round while Brinker and Annabell Pancake of Clemson were six off the pace.
Sambach went out in two under and then made an eagle on the par-5 10th hole to move to 4-under on the day. She played her last eight holes in even par to win the championship by two strokes over Brinker, who closed with an impressive 8-under 64.
Her 14-under score of 202 was not only a Virginia record, but it smashed the individual standard at the ACC Championships previously held by Duke's Brittany Lang, who shot 9-under 204 at the 2004 tournament.
At 1-over 865, Virginia secured the fourth seed heading into the match-play competition and will take on top-ranked Wake Forest, which finished at 19-under, eight strokes ahead of Duke. The Blue Devils will meet third-seed Clemson in the other semifinal with the winners advancing to Sunday's title match.
ABOUT THE
ACC Women's Championship
Match Play Championship with 54-holes of stroke-play
qualifying to determine the low eight teams
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