Ella June Hannant’s bid to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was halted in Friday morning’s quarterfinals by Anna Bell of Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Bell knocked off Hannant 2 and 1 to advance to a semifinal against Amelie Zalsman of St. Petersburg, Florida, who has committed to play at Wake Forest, beat Hannant 2 and 1 at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham.
Bell and Zalsman met in the semifinals Friday afternoon. Medalist Clairey Lin of Canada played Athena Singh of Morehead, Kentucky, in the other pairing. Bell hails from the same small town that produced UNC basketball star Tyler Hansbrough.
Hannant, a rising senior from Pikeville committed to play at the University of Nebraska, had beaten No. 3 seed Anna Iwanaga of Japan in 22 holes on Thursday afternoon after forcing a playoff with a birdie on the 18th hole.
Hannant took an early lead in the quarterfinals with a birdie on No. 2, but Bell took command with wins at Nos. 6, 9, 12 and 13.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
