After Two Rounds, Duke Is Tied 11th At NCAA Championship

May 21, 2003

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - For the second straight day, the top-ranked Duke women's golf team struggled at the 2003 NCAA Championship on Wednesday as the Blue Devils carded a total of 314 and sit in tied 11th place at the Par-72, 6,300-Yard Kampen Golf Course in West Lafayette, Ind.

Leading the action after day two is Southern California (608) followed by Oklahoma State (611), Pepperdine (613), Ohio State (616), Florida (620), Auburn (620), Purdue (625), Texas (627), UCLA (628), Arizona State (631), Duke (632), California (632), Arizona (632), Kent State (632) and Vanderbilt (633) rounding out the top 15. With two rounds remaining, the Blue Devils will need to make up 26 strokes to win their second straight title.

Freshman Liz Janangelo turned in a team-best round of 76 on Wednesday, which included two double-bogeys and three birdies. A West Hartford, Conn., product, Janangelo made the turn only one-over-par, but went four-over-par on the next three holes to lead to 76 and now owns a two-day total of 158, which is tied 49th individually.

After leading the individual competition after day one, Virada Nirapathpongporn struggled with a round of 79. The junior from Bangkok, Thailand, Nirapathpongporn finished the day with five bogeys over her final eight holes and was able to make only one birdie on the morning. She is tied eighth with a 151, which is three shots out of the individual lead (Annie Thurman of Oklahoma State). Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh turned in a 79 on day two and stands tied 61st with a 159. Aazam-Zanganeh began the day well as she was even through seven holes before registering six bogeys and one double-bogey over her final 11 holes.

Leigh Anne Hardin and Kristina Engstrom each battled the tough conditions with rounds of 80. Hardin, a Martinsville, Ind., native, wasn't able to collect any birdies on the day and has only one birdie in 36 holes so far.

Duke Results
Virada Nirapathpongporn         72-79=151 (+7, T8th)
Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh         80-79=159 (+15, T59th)
Liz Janangelo                   82-76=158 (+14, T61st)
Leigh Anne Hardin               84-80=164 (+20, T85th)
Kristina Engstrom               85-80=165 (+21, T94th)

Duke Notes - Duke notched seven birdies on Wednesday after five on Tuesday

Duke Quotes

Dan Brooks, Duke head coach

"We have had a couple of off days and we are going to fight all the way to the end. We might run out of holes, but we are going to fight right to the end. We will see what happens. I have seen some amazing things happen in golf. We are hopeful. We are impacted by these two days but we are not going to give up."

What did you say to the team last night and this morning?

"I think our meetings have been good. We talked about how the field will give you a little bit back, you only need to take part back. We are just going to have to regroup, do a little bit of practicing tonight, see if we can iron a couple of things out and take it step by step-just like every time we tee it up."

What do you think contribute to the struggles?

"The course has some length to it, the rough is deep and there is wind on top of it. It is going to make all the scores higher. The wind didn't blow on us only. We take full responsibility for the two days of golf. This is not as quality of golf as we are able to play. We know we've got it in us. There is a lot of golf left."

Do you seem there is a lot of pressure trying to win back-to-back titles?

"I think you would be lying to yourself to say that we are above that kind of feeling. But I don't feel like it was a dominant feeling for us. I don't think we were oppressed by that perspective. I think everyone was ready for it and we have been the front-runners before."

Virada Nirapathpongporn, Duke

"I started out alright, but I wasn't hitting the ball exactly how I wanted so it was a little difficult trying to get up and down. With the wind continuing to blow hard, it got tiring. So it was hard to keep it up when you are not hitting it quite like you usually do. When you have to battle the wind for 18 holes, it was tough."

On Duke's performance so far:

"We haven't played our best golf or even our usual golf. Hopefully, we can pull it off in the next two days."

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After Two Rounds, Duke Is Tied 11th At NCAA Championship

Players Mentioned

Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh

Kristina Engstrom

Leigh Anne Hardin

Liz Janangelo

Virada Nirapathpongporn

Duke information

After Two Rounds, Duke Is Tied 11th At NCAA Championship

Players Mentioned

Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh

Kristina Engstrom

Leigh Anne Hardin

Liz Janangelo

Virada Nirapathpongporn

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Duke information