Duke Women's Golf Finishes Fourth At NCAA Fall Preview

Sept. 17, 2002

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - The top-ranked Duke women's golf team shot a 305 on Tuesday and finished in fourth place at the 2002 NCAA Fall Preview in West Lafayette, Ind. Taking home the title at the Par 72, 6,225-yard Kampen Golf Course was Arizona (889) with Oklahoma State (892), Vanderbilt (901), Duke (902) and Auburn (904) rounding out the top five.

Highlighting the day for the Blue Devils was senior Kristina Engstrom with a two-under-par 70. The product of Djursholm, Sweden, began the day with four birdies on her first five holes and finished with a team-best five birdies on Tuesday. The round of 70 equaled her best collegiate round, which happened three different times last year. For the tournament, Engstrom finished tied for fifth with a 221 (+5).

Junior Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) notched a 76 to finish tied for 28th with a 228. The rest of the Blue Devils struggled on Tuesday as Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh (Lausanne, Switzerland) turned in a 79, Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn.) posted an 80 and Leigh Anne Hardin (Martinsville, Ind.) shot an 81.

The Blue Devils will have a chance to come back and claim the 2003 NCAA Championship on the Kampen Golf Course next May 20-23. Last year, Duke finished tied for 11th at The Preview and then rebounded this past May to win its second NCAA title.

Next up for Duke is the ACC/SEC Challenge on Sept. 27-29 in Sandestin Resort, Fla.. The tournament will be played at the Raven Club.

Duke Individual Results
Kristina Engstrom                74-77-70=221 (T5th, +5)
Virada Nirapathpongporn          72-80-76=228 (T28th, +12)
Liz Janangelo                    75-74-80=229 (T32nd, +13)
Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh          76-75-79=230 (T35th, +14)
Leigh Anne Hardin                78-74-81=233 (T48th, +17)

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