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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Zaia named Big South Women’s Golf Freshman of the Week
04.01.2021 | Women's Golf
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After finishing tied for third individually at the Pinehurst Women's Intercollegiate, UNC Asheville's Venecia Zaia was named the Big South Women's Golf Freshman of the Week by the league office on Thursday.
"I am so incredibly proud of Venecia for earning Big South Freshman of the Week," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Ericka Schneider. "It was only a matter of time before she did. The amount of time and effort she has put in to working on her mental game since the beginning of the semester is truly paying off."
Zaia totaled a 6-over-par 222 through three rounds battling a saturated course. The freshman shot a 3-over-par 75 in her opening round on Monday, registering four birdies in the process. For her second round on Monday, the Murrieta, California, native shot just 1-over-par (73) with birdies on hole No. 2 and 15.
"When she first arrived in the fall, the transition from playing just for herself to playing for a team, coach and University was a big adjustment for her," Schneider said. "But she has been putting in the work with a Psychologist, Dr. Arnold Kozak, that has been donating his time to our program to help the team train their mental game. Venecia is an incredibly talented player physically and can hold her own against just about anyone, but the big hurdle for her was the mental game in a team sport. With the continued work with Dr. Kozak, I can say with certainty that this is only just the beginning of the many awards is destined to earn. Congrats Venecia, this is so well-deserved and shows perseverance and hard work truly does pay off! I am so proud of you!"
On Tuesday, Zaia finished competition with a 2-over-par 74, birdieing holes No. 15 and 17 to finish in the top three. All three rounds were career lows for Zaia.
Players Mentioned
