Women?s Golf Wins Two Matches; Advances To Semis Of Match Play

Friday, November 3

Orlando, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Duke Travels To Columbus Seeking Fourth NCAA Championship

Women?s Golf Wins Two Matches; Advances To Semis Of Match Play

11/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

ORLANDO, FLA. ? The second-seeded Duke Women's Golf Team registered two victories on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Eagle Creek Golf Club. The squad battled sustained wins at approximately 20 miles per hour and gusts up to 30 in Orlando, Fla.

“We got off to a slow start and Florida State has some very feisty players,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “FSU hung tight as we were playing some pretty good golf out there. The match came down to Amanda [Blumenherst] and Jennifer's [Pandolfi] matches as those finished when it was dark. I had never seen anything like that before.”

In the first match of the day against 15th-seeded South Carolina, the Blue Devils cruised winning all five matches. Junior Jennifer Pandolfi notched a 4&3 over Blythe Worley as she won three out of the first four holes and never looked back. Senior Anna Grzebien and freshman Alison Whitaker each had no problems in their first matches winning 5&5 and 5&4, respectively, over Taylor Barrett and Benedicte Toumpsin.

One of the closest matches of the morning was Amanda Blumenherst against Maria Raffo of the Gamecocks. After being all-square through the first two holes, Blumenherst carded wins on three straight holes and never trailed the rest of the way. A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst led by as many as five but didn't close the match out until the 17th. Sophomore Jennie Lee collected an 1up win over Whitney Simons as she posted a win on the ninth hole to close out the match.

Duke closed out the afternoon competition with a 2-1-2 win over seventh-seeded Florida State. Sophomore Jennie Lee made an early statement against the Seminoles as she cruised to a 5&4 win over Whitney Wright. A product of Henderson, Nev., Lee opened the match by winning the first three holes and never led by less than three after No. 6.

The rest of the matches each went 18 holes with Pandolfi and Blumenherst halving their matches. Pandolfi, who is from Navarre, Fla., trailed Caroline Westrup for 12 of the 18 holes and was three down with four holes remaining. Pandolfi made a huge comeback as she won holes No. 15, No. 16 and No. 18 to halve the match.

Blumenherst had a tough match against Jaclyn Burch, which forced the reigning National Player of the Year to come back from being down for five of the first six holes. Over the final 12 holes, Blumenherst led in three of them, but her last lead was on hole 14. Burch notched a birdie on the 15th and the duo remained all square through the final three holes to halve the match.

Grzebien, who is from Narragansett, R.I., battled through a tight match with Whitney Brummett as no player led by more than 1up and Grzebien trailed for eight holes. After taking her only lead of the match after the 16th hole, Grzebien made two pars to close out the match but Brummett collected two birdies to win the contest, 1up.

One of the most crucial matches was by Whitaker, a native of Melbourne, Australia, who was facing Kayla Shaul. Shaul opened the contest with a win on the first hole and led for two holes before making a birdie on No. 4 to make the match all square. Whitaker went on to win holes No. 6 and No. 7 to take a 2up advantage and led for six straight holes before suffering a double-bogey on the 12th hole to send the match back to all square. Whitaker won No. 13 and Shaul picked up a win on the 14th, which sent the match to all square for five consecutive holes.

It all came down to the first hole since the duo began their match on hole No. 2. Whitaker concluded with a par and Shaul had a bogey to give the Duke freshman a 1up victory.

“I am very proud of Jennifer's comeback and especially also of Jennie's play,” said Brooks. “She had a big win against Florida State because if we would have split the matches we would have won on a tiebreaker since she won so many holes.”

The Blue Devils will next take on 11th-seeded Michigan State, who notched upset victories over sixth-seeded Arizona (3-2-0) and third-seeded Auburn (3-2-0). The other semifinal contest on Saturday is top-seeded Georgia against fourth-seeded Vanderbilt.

- d - u - k - e -

SECOND ROUND RESULTS
(1) Georgia def. (9) Arkansas, 4-1-0
Taylor Leon, UGA def. Stacy Lewis, Ark 2 and 1
Whitney Wade, UGA def. Lucy Nunn, Ark, 1-up
Mallory Hetzel UGA def. Ashley Medders, 3 & 2
Alexandra Schulte, Ark def. Alina Lee, UGA, 6 and 5
Garrett Phillips, UGA def. Tiffany Phelps, Ark, 6 and 5

(4) Vanderbilt def. (12) LSU, 3-1-1
Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt def. Melissa Eaton, 4 and 2
Kristen Svicarovich, Vanderbilt halved Nicola Eaton, LSU
Chris Brady, Vanderbilt def. Rebecca Kuhn, LSU 6 and 4
Liebelei Lawrence, Vanderbilt def. Caroline Martens, 7 and 6
Kimberly Meck, LSU def. Julie Bartholomew, Vanderbilt, 6 and 5

(11) Michigan State def. (3) Auburn, 3-2-0
Nicole Hage, Auburn def. Heather Rose, MSU, 3 and 2
Mandi McConnell, MSU def. Candace Schepperle, Auburn, 1-up
Sara Brown, MSU def. Margaret Shirley, Auburn, 4 and 3
Laura Kueny, MSU def. Abigale Schepperle, Auburn, 1-up
Marissa Milligan, Auburn def. Jordyn Wells, 2 and 1

(2) Duke def. (7) Florida State, 2-1-2
Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke halved Caroline Westrup, FSU
Amanda Blumenherst, Duke halved Jaclyn Burch, FSU
Whitney Brummett, FSU def. Anna Grzebien, Duke, 1-up
Alison Whitaker, Duke, def. Kayla Shaul, FSU, 1-up
Jennie Lee, Duke def. Whitney Wright, FSU, 5 and 4

(8) Purdue def. (16) Nebraska, 3-1-1
Maria Hernandez, Purdue def. J.C. Stevenson, Nebraska, 3 and 1
Christina Boeljon, Purdue, def. Kate White, Nebraska, 6 and 4
Myrte Eikenaar, Purdue def. Elli Brown, Nebraska, 2 and 1
Whitney Frykman, Purdue halved Chrissie McArdle, Nebraska
Allison Stewart, Nebraska def. Stephanie Oukeo, Purdue, 5 and 3

(5) Wake Forest def. (13) SMU, 3-1-1
Amanda Goins, WFU def. Lacey Jones, SMU, 1-up
Jennifer Ackerson, SMU def. Jean Chua, WFU, 1-up
Nannette Hills, WFU halved Kate Ackerson, SMU
Margaret Simons, WFU def. Ashley Deatherage, 3 and 2
Laura Crawford, WFU def. Sarah Dodson, SMU, 2 and 1

(14) Alabama def. (3) Auburn, 3-1-1
Jenny Suh, Bama def. Adriana Zwanck, Arizona, 2-up
Helena Blomberg, Bama def. Alison Walshe, Arizona, 3 and 2
Mary Jacobs, Arizona def. Sarah Sturm, Bama 3 and 2
Laura Goodwin, Bama def. Rachel Gavin, 3 and 2
Brittany Benvenuto, Arizona halved Rhea Nair, Bama

(10) Florida vs. (15) South Carolina ? Stands at 1-1-1
Sandra Gal, UF, def. Laura Raffo, USC, 5 and 3
Whitney Myers, UF def. Taylor Barrett, USC, 4 and 2
Benedicte Toumpsin, USC def. Tiffany Chudy, UF 4 and 3
Mallory Blackwelder, UF vs. Whitney Simons, USC ? To be Completed.
Ornella Jouven, UF vs Blythe Worley, USC ? To be Completed

FIRST ROUND RESULTS
(1) Georgia def. (16) Nebraska, 4-0-1
Taylor Leon, UGA def. J C Stevenson, Nebraska, 2-up
Mallory Hetzel, UGA def. Elli Brown, Nebraska, 6 and 5
Alina Lee, UGA def. Chrissie McArdle, Nebraska, 4 and 2
Whitney Wade, UGA def. Kate White, Nebraska, 4-up
Garrett Phillips, UGA halved Allison Stewart, Nebraska

(9) Arkansas def. (8) Purdue, 3-2-0
Stacy Lewis, Ark def. Maria Hernandez, Purdue, 3 and 2
Christel Boeljon, Purdue def. Lucy Nunn, Ark, 3 and 2
Myrte Eikenaar, Purdue def. Ashley Medders, Ark, 2-up
Alexandra Schulte, Ark def. Whitney Frykman, Purdue, 2 and 1
Tiffany Phelps, Ark def. Stephanie Oukeo, Purdue, 2-up

(4) Vanderbilt def. (13) SMU, 3-2-0
Jacqui Concolino, Vandy def. Lacey Jones, SMU, 2 and 1
Jennifer Ackerson, SMU def. Kristen Svicarovich, Vandy, 5 and 4
Chris Brady, Vandy def. Kate Ackerson, SMU, 1-up
Liebelei Lawrence, Vandy def. Ashley Deatherage, SMU, 6 and 5
Sara Dodson, SMU def. Julie Bartholomew, Vandy, 3 and 2

(12) LSU def. (5) Wake Forest, 4-1-0
Melissa Eaton, LSU def. Mandy Goins, WF, 4 and 2
Nicola Eaton, LSU def. Jean Chua, WF, 2 and 1
Rebecca Kuhn, LSU def. Nannette Hill, WF def., LSU, 3 and 2
Margaret Simons, WF def. Alexis Rather, LSU, 1-up
Kim Meck, LSU def. Dolores White, WF, 2-up

(2) Duke def. (15) South Carolina, 5-0-0
Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke def. Blythe Worley, USC, 4 & 3
Amanda Blumenherst, Duke def. Maria Raffo, USC, 3 & 2
Anna Grzebien, Duke def. Taylor Barrett, USC, 6 and 4
Jennie Lee, Duke def. Whitney Simons, USC, 1-up
Alison Whitaker, Duke def. Benedict Toumpsin, USC, 5 and 4

(7) Florida State def. (10) Florida, 5-0-0
Caroline Westrup, FSU def. Ornella Jouven, UF, 4 and 3
Jaclyn Burch, FSU def. Sandra Gal, UF, 1-up
Whitney Brummett, FSU def. Eleanor Tucker, UF, 3 and 1
Whitney Wright, FSU def. Mallory Blackwelder, UF, 3 and 1
Kayla Shaul, FSU def. Tiffany Chudy, UF, 1-up

(11) Michigan State def. (6) Arizona , 3-2-0
Adriana Zwanck, Arizona def. Heather Rose, MSU, 4 and 3
Alison Walshe, Arizona def. Mandi McConnell, MSU, 5 and 4
Sara Brown, MSU def. Mary Jacobs, Arizona, 1-up
Laura Kueny, MSU def. Rachel Gavin, Arizona, 4 and 3
Jordyn Wells, MSU def. Brittany Benvenuto, Arizona, 3 and 1

(3) Auburn def. (14) Alabama, 4-1-0
Jenny Suh, Bama def. Nicole Hage, Auburn, 2-up
Candace Schepperle, Auburn def. Helena Blomberg, Bama, 6 and 4
Margaret Shirley, Auburn def. Sarah Sturm, Bama, 3 and 2
Abigale Schepperle, Auburn def. Laura Goodwin, Bama, 6 and 5
Marissa Milligan, Auburn def. Rhea Nair, Bama, 3 and 2