No. 1 Duke Women's Golf Leads The Preview After Day One

Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. - The No. 1 ranked Duke University women's golf team kicked off its 2000 fall season at The Preview on Friday with a first day total of 296 to lead the 21-team field. The Blue Devils, the 1999 National Champions, lead the 2000 National Champions, Arizona Wildcats (298), by two strokes at El Campeon golf course at Mission Inn Resort.

Freshman Leigh Anne Hardin (Martinsville, Ind.) led the way for the Blue Devils with an even par 72 in her first collegiate tournament. She is currently tied for third place behind Cristina Baena of Arizona and Katy Harris of LSU, who both shot a one-under-par 71.

"Everybody feels really good after the first round," said head coach Dan Brooks. "They are keeping their chins up and are learning the greens, which is the real key. It has been extremely hot and all the players are feeling the heat, after playing a six hour practice round on Thursday and then going out today."

Junior Candy Hannemann (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is tied for ninth (74), sophomore Kristina Engstrom (Djursholm, Sweden) and freshman Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) are tied for 16th (75), and senior Kalen Anderson is tied for 40th (78).

The Blue Devils started their round on hole 10 and struggled early shooting a 160, but rebounded with a 135 in the final nine holes. Hannemann led the way in her final nine holes shooting a 32, which included a hole-in-one on the second hole with a 5-iron. It marks the third time she has notched a hole-in-one.

"It is taking a while for the players to adjust to the Bermuda greens, which are grainy," said Brooks. "Most of the greens are going downhill so you either have to tap the put or hit it real hard to make it up the slope."

Rounding out the top 10 include-Southern California (300), Auburn (300), Wake Forest (300), Nebraska (304), Texas (306), LSU (307), Tennessee (308), and UCF (309).

"Leigh Anne and Virada are handling it really well," commented Brooks on the play of his freshmen golfers. "They are very seasoned players, are used to traveling around, and have been on the road a great deal the last few years. Both are very organized and have adjusted to college life well."