North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Golf Welcomes Newcomers
7/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
July 15, 2002
After a record setting year for the women's golf program at NC State, head coach Page Marsh and assistant Josh Gregory are excited to announce that four newcomers will join the Wolfpack family in the fall. Two transfers and two talented freshmen will join the Wolfpack on the links this season.
Courtney Pomeranz, a native of Sanford, N.C., comes to NC State as a transfer from UNC-Wilmington. Pomeranz, a two-time All-Big South performer, led the Seahawks with a low stroke average of 78.2 as a freshman and 77.7 as a sophomore. Pomeranz finished fourth at the BSC Championships in the spring and medaled at the ECU-Bradford Creek Invitational with a card of 150 after two rounds. She also finished third at the Lady Seahawk Invitational with a three-day score of 223. This summer she qualified for the U.S. Amateur, the second time she has done so. In June she reached match play in the North-South Amateur in Pinehurst. Pomeranz is also a North Carolina Women's Match Play Championion. While in high school, she was a three-time golf MVP for coach Randy Yates and boasted all-state honors as a senior.
"Courtney will bring a lot of heart and experience to our team," says assistant coach Josh Gregory. "Being from the area, she grew up as a state fan. Her charisma, competitive spirit and will to succeed will be a great addition to the Wolfpack family."
Briana Vega will transfer to NC State after playing two seasons at UNC-Greensboro. The Boston, Mass. native finished fifth at the Southern Conference Championships in the spring. Vega led the team with a low average of 76.9 in the spring and placed third on the year with 79.5. She qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur in 1999 and was the IIAJC State Champion in 2000. Vega was also the 2000 NJPGA Nike Open champion, and placed second at the 1999 NJSWC Girls Junior Amateur. She is a two-time all-state and all-conference performer.
"Briana is very excited about being a part of a top-caliber program," says Gregory. "She is a great competitor and will be very competitive in the ACC. Briana is looking forward to competing here, and we are excited to have her at NC State."
Molly Birmingham, a native of Cornelius, N.C., has been playing competitive golf since the age of nine. She has participated in national tournaments including the Plantation Junior Golf Tour, North Carolina Junior Events, USGA Junior Girls and American Junior Golf Association. She was the runner-up in the 1999 Junior Girls championship. Birmingham was named co-MVP on the Myers Park men's golf team in 2001 with a scoring average of 78, and was named an All-Mecklenburg County selection. She finished 14th in the 2001 Titleist Top 100 Tournament at Championshipgate and ranked as low as 45th in the Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index National Rankings. She is instructed by Todd Smith at the Pineville Golf Village in Pineville, N.C.
"Molly has qualities that you simply can't teach. She is extremely long off of the tee, an area where most young players struggle," says Gregory. "With some instruction and improvement to her short game, Molly should become a great player."
Lorraine Ballerano, a native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., joins the Wolfpack as the most experienced national tournament player of the class. Ballerano has claimed three championships in her young career, with wins in the 2000 Twin States Junior Championship, 2000 Junior Rice Planters Championship and 2000 SCJGA Players Championship. She was named the 2000 Beth Daniel Player of the Year for South Carolina and earned South Carolina's title as 2001 Miss Golf. She finished in a tie for ninth at the 2001 AJGA McDonald's Betsy Rawls National Girls Junior. Ballerano is a two-time qualifier for the US Junior Girls. She reached the second round of match play at the 2002 US Women's Amateur Public Links. In her most recent outing at the 2002 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, Ballerano finished in the top 15 and shot a second round tournament low score of 68, also her career low.
"Lorraine is the most experienced of our signees," says Gregory. "She has played extremely well this summer and has been very impressive on the national level. She is a dedicated player with a great respect for the game. She continues to improve on her swing and has a very well-rounded game. We hope she can step into the lineup and be an immediate factor for us this season."
The women's golf team is coming off of it's best performance in school history. The team clinched three tournament titles last season, including the Lady Moc Classic, Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational and the Lady Seahawk Invitational. The women finished third in the ACC and qualified for the NCAA East Regional, where they finished 14th out of the 21 team field.
"Coach Marsh and I are very excited about our incoming class of athletes," says Gregory. "We are a program on the rise and look to compete in the NCAA Championships in the spring. We play in a highly competitive conference and have proved so we can compete with the nation's best. Our goal is to improve on the regional level and finish the season as one of the nation's elite."
