North Carolina State University Athletics
Hole-in-One
10/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Oct. 4, 2004
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - One of the best parts of Sunday's story about the NC State women's golf comeback at the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship in Franklin, Tenn., was that Ashlee Dean, who led the Wolfpack with a three-over-par score, tying for 13th place, made a hole-in-one on the fifth hole at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in the final round Sunday.
"At first I didn't think it went in," said Dean about her first career hole-in-one. "I thought it rolled off the back where I couldn't see it (from the tee). The group ahead of us was leaving the green and they started screaming and jumping around. It was pretty exciting. I didn't know what to do. I'm just really proud of how our whole team came together as a team that last day. Everybody was so excited and enthusiastic out on the course cheering each other on. We had a really good day."
Dean, a senior from Henderson, N.C., aced the par 3, 160-yard hole with a six iron. She becomes the third member of NC State's hole-in-one club, joining Sarah Bonner (hole 16 of the Destin Golf Course in Destin, Fla., at the Sept. 28, 2002 ACC/SEC Challenge) and Leslye Johnson (eighth hole at MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary, N.C., at the Nov. 1, 1982 Lady Wolfpack Invitational).
After slipping five strokes in the second round of the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship, the NC State women's golf team came out on fire in the final round Sunday, improving 16 strokes to finish fifth in a very elite field of 18 teams at the par 72, 6,254-yard Vanderbilt Legends Club. The Wolfpack vaulted from 13th place to fifth with its improved play over the final 18 holes.
NC State's third round even-par score of 288 ties for the second best team score in the program's 11-year history. The best, 285, was shot two years ago in the second round of the same tournament. The Wolfpack also shot a 288 in the third round of the ACC Championship last spring.
NC State, unranked in all of the preseason polls, finished ahead of a dozen teams ranked in the latest Golf World poll, seven of which reside in the top 25.
Colby Cobb led the Pack in the final round with a three-under score of 69. She tied for 16th at five-over for the tournament. Cobb, who shot par in the opening round, missed the school record by one stroke with her 69 on Sunday.
Dean followed up her two-under second-round score with par for the final round. Lorraine Ballerano was one-over in the final round and Nancy Mountcastle was two-over. Molly Birmingham carded a five-over score in the final round, but after firing a first-round 71, she finished seven-over to tie for 25th.
Duke edged top-ranked UCLA by a stroke to win the tournament at nine-over. Jackie Beers from Georgia was the individual medalist with a four-under total. Complete results from the Mason Rudolph are available at www.commodores.com and www.golfstat.com. NC State returns to action this weekend when the Wolfpack travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to compete in the Franklin Street Partners Invitational at Finley Golf Course Oct. 8-10.
5th NC State 299-304-288=891
T13th Ashlee Dean 77-70-72=219
T16th Colby Cobb 72-80-69=221
T25th Molly Birmingham 71-75-77=223
T64th Lorraine Ballerano 79-79-73=231
T83rd Nancy Mountcastle 85-80-74=239
