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Blue Devils Lead NCAA Championships Heading Into Final Round
5/24/2001 1:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 24, 2001
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, FLA. -- Led by junior Candy Hanneman's three-under-par 69 on Thursday in the third round of the NCAA Championships, the top-ranked Duke women's golf team surged to take a four-shot lead over Georgia into the final day of action at the El Campeon course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Duke heads into Friday looking to claim its second National Championship in the last three years.
The Blue Devils came out and fired a tournament low 290 on Thursday and are currently at 882 for the tournament. The University of Georgia is right on Duke's heels with an 886. Auburn and Texas are tied for third (888), Oklahoma State is fifth (892), UCLA is sixth (893), Southern California is seventh (896), with Arizona (899), Tulsa (899), and Stanford (901) rounding out the top 10.
Hannemann came out and fired a career NCAA Tournament best round of 69 and moved to even for the tournament. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native, posted four birdies, including three consecutive from numbers eight, nine, and 10, and only two bogies. For the tournament she has improved each day with a 72, 75, and 69 for a total of 216, which is tied for sixth individually.
Freshman Leigh Anne Hardin (Martinsville, Ind.) had her best round of the tournament on Thursday with two birdies and two bogies for an even par 72. She has a three-day total of 223 and is tied for 40th individually.
Duke's other sensational freshman, Virada Nirapathpongporn, posted a 74 on the day and is tied for 12th with a three-day total of 219. The Bangkok, Thailand product, notched one birdie to go along with three bogies on the morning.
Senior Kalen Anderson (Edina, Minn.) also posted her 2001 tournament best round of 75 on the day. She kicked off her round with a birdie on hole number two, but posted two bogies and one double bogey in the next five holes. Anderson, one of two current members of Duke's 1999 National Championship squad, finally put everything together to notch three birdies on the back nine to shot one-under-par 36 to close out the round.
Sophomore Kristina Engstrom (Djursholm, Sweden) got off to a rocky start on Thursday with five bogies in her first eight holes, but shot only one-over-par on the back nine to finish with a 78.
In the individual medallist watch, Katy Harris of Louisiana State is in the lead with a three-day total of 212. Only six strokes separate the top eight individual players.
As a team, Duke tallied 13 birdies on Thursday. Duke's 290 is three shots off of its NCAA Tournament school record of 289, which happened in 1987.
Duke will tee off on Friday at 8:30 AM off the first tee along with Georgia and Texas. The Blue Devils will look to claim its second women's golf National Title on Friday and Duke's second overall women's athletics national title.
Duke Individual Results
Virada Nirapathpongporn -- 72-73-74=219
Candy Hannemann -- 75-72-69=216
Kristina Engstrom -- 77-72-78=227
Leigh Anne Hardin -- 75-76-72=223
Kalen Anderson -- 79-78-75=232
For full and individual results, go to golfstat.com
Duke Comments
Head Coach Dan Brooks
"The key word for us today was tough. I remember looking at the leader
board five to six holes into the round and we were six over. I can honestly
tell you I was not really affected by that. I have seen this team hang
tough so many times and I wasn't surprised when we brought it back."
"It is really fun to watch my team get themselves out of trouble sometimes and hang tough. These are players that know how to get birdies and enjoy birdies. It is neat to see that if the course is only going to give you par's that they will hang tough and give you that also."
"We are going to approach tomorrow like we approach everyday. It isn't about gaps and where you are and where you stand. It is about one shot at a time."
Junior Candy Hannemann
"I started out with a birdie and bogey right away. Then, went through a
couple of tough holes with five, six, seven, eight and did well there. I
started hitting good shots and good puts. It was a good day. I felt really
comfortable out there today."
Senior Kalen Anderson
"It is real exciting. What I am excited about is this whole championship is
everyone has been so close. Obviously, we would want to pull away and have
a great big lead, but I think this is fun."
Players Mentioned
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