Duke Leads Central Region; Blumenherst Tied For Lead After 36 Holes

Friday, May 12

College Station, Texas (Traditions Club)

All Day

Duke University

Day Two

Duke Leads Central Region; Blumenherst Tied For Lead After 36 Holes

5/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

BRYAN, TEXAS- Led by a tournament-best round of 69 on Friday by senior Liz Janangelo, top-ranked and No. 1 seed Duke moved into first place at the NCAA Central Regional, which is being played at the 6,289-Yard, Par 72 Traditions Club, while freshman Amanda Blumenherst remained in a tie for first in the individual action in Bryan, Texas.

The Blue Devils turned in round of 300 on day two and owns a 36-hole total of 594, which leads by three strokes over Southern California (597). Rounding out the top-10 are Pepperdine (607), Nebraska (611), Florida (613), Northwestern (616), Michigan State (617), Kent State (620), Texas (621) and Texas A&M (624). The top-eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio from May 23-26.

Blumenherst, the top-ranked golfer in the nation from Scottsdale, Ariz., posted a round of 75 on Friday and sits tied with Southern California's Irene Cho at one-over-par, 145, for the tournament. After collecting a tournament-best seven birdies on day one, Blumenherst had only two on Friday afternoon. She made the turn at even par but closed out her round with three bogies over her final five holes. Blumenherst continues to lead the tournament in birdies with nine and in par-five scoring, 4.38.

The highlight of the second day was Janangelo, who registered five birdies and tied for her best collegiate round during NCAA competition with a 69. She enters the final day of action in sole possession of third place, which is one shot behind the leaders (146). The West Hartford, Conn., native also notched a 69 in the 2004 East Regional during the third and final round of play. Janangelo opened play on the back nine with pars on the first two holes, but then birdied No. 12, 13 and 16 to go to three-under-par. She then suffered bogies on No. 17 and No. 1, but settled back down to play the final eight holes at two-under-par with birdies on the third and eighth holes.

The rest of the Blue Devils had good rounds as they made the turn, but struggled as they made their way into the clubhouse with the hot afternoon sun bearing down on them. Anna Grzebien, Jennifer Pandolfi and Jennie Lee were a combined six-over-par after nine holes but played the final nine holes at 14-over-par. After posting a one-under-par, 71, on day one Pandolfi made the turn at one-over-par, but had bogies on four of the five par-fours to finish with a 77. The native of Navarre, Fla., enters the final day with a 36-hole total of 148 and is tied for seventh, individually.

Lee, a freshman from Huntington Beach, Calif., was one-under-par through four holes on Friday and made the turn at two-over-par. She closed the afternoon with six bogies over the last nine holes to finish with an 80. Lee is tied for 42nd with a 156. Over the first two days of play, Lee is only two-over-par through the first nine holes of play, but has struggled during her final nine with a 12-over-par ledger.

Grzebien, the reigning NCAA East Regional Champion, also had a sold opening nine holes at three-over-par, but finished with at four-over-par over her final nine holes of action. A product of Narragansett, R.I., Grzebien continued to be bothered by a sore back but collected her first birdie of the tournament on Friday at the 339-yard, par four fourth hole. She enters the final round at tied for 53rd with a 158.

After totaling 15 birdies on Thursday, Duke had 10 on the second day. The Blue Devils played the par-fives at two-under-par and for the tournament are four-under-par on par fives Duke will tee off on Saturday beginning at 7:40 a.m. along with Southern California and Pepperdine.

Duke Quotes

Dan Brooks, Head Coach

"We are in the lead, but we don't feel like we went out there and took control of the situation. It was a pretty rough day. We didn't have a really good backside. That is always kind of tough to take. You can have the same scores and if you play well on the back you feel great. But we are going to perk up. The team is very resilient. We had a rough backside but we are going to come back."

How about not playing that great but still moving into the lead:

"It is a tough course and it sounds like it got everyone else to. We struggled in some places but we were not the only ones."

On going to have dinner then getting up early to get the final round over with:

"I don't think it makes all that much difference. I do think the harder days are the ones when you tee off really late. That is going to happen--nationals you can count on it. Maybe we can figure out a better way to be a little sharper when we tee off in the afternoon. We haven't talked about that. I felt like we were in a good frame of mind and we were rested up. I didn't feel like we were already getting tired or anything by the time we were teeing off. I thought they were ready."

How big is it to win this event?

"I think the more important thing is the quality of your golf. You want to feel like you are doing things -- no matter what golf course you are on and what conditions you are in -- you have the game to handle it. It is all a matter of feeling like your mind and your body are doing what you are capable of. It has less to do with if you win regionals or not but more about how you feel about your game."

On Liz Janangelo:

"I couldn't be happier for Liz. She has so much game and is such a talented player. It is really nice to see her shoot a 69 here. I think seniors tend to have a little bit more on them but she handles it just about as well or better as anyone does. To be able to shoot 69 and to be near the lead I am happy for her. That is where she likes to be. That is the kind of player she is, that is where she belongs, she is comfortable there and I am just happy she is able to be there."

Senior Liz Janangelo

On Today's Round:

"I felt really solid and I hit the ball really well. I hit a lot of fairways and I think that is the key to this course -- putting yourself into position. I really think it favors long hitters and having shorter irons into the greens as the greens firm up. The greens are more receptive to your iron shots then. I just put the ball close to the pin a lot and eventually after a couple of lipouts a few fell in."

On struggling a little yesterday and playing well today:

"I felt good yesterday and thought I played well. I had one high number as I had a triple on a hole. Having a seven really does hurt your score. A couple more putts dropped today and got a couple more shots up and down. At this level all it is is a few more putts and a few more up and downs is the difference between a 75 and a 69."

How good is a 69 today:

"I felt like I left a shots out there, actually. I hit a lot of shots close, but I made all the putts that mattered within five feet. I look forward to tomorrow. The team is going to do better. We are going to go out there and shoot a low number. We have two rounds under our belt with this course and we are definitely going to go out there and shoot a low number tomorrow."

- d - u - k - e -

rank team scores
1 Duke 294 300 594 +18
2 Southern California 293 304 597 +21
3 Pepperdine 303 304 607 +31
4 Nebraska, U. of 313 298 611 +35
5 Florida 301 312 613 +37
6 Northwestern Univ. 308 308 616 +40
7 Michigan State 306 311 617 +41
8 Kent State 309 311 620 +44
9 Texas 311 310 621 +45
10 Texas A&M University 318 306 624 +48
11 Oklahoma State 314 311 625 +49
12 Baylor 318 310 628 +52
13 Tulsa 319 310 629 +53
14 TCU 319 313 632 +56
15 Ohio State 309 325 634 +58
16 Southern Methodist 316 319 635 +59
17 Birmingham−Southern Col. 327 312 639 +63
18 Missouri, U. of 320 320 640 +64
19 Jacksonville St. 335 321 656 +80
20 Jackson State Univ. 343 345 688 +112
21 St. Francis Univ.−PA 355 361 716 +140

start finish player school scores
T1 T1 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 70 75 145 +1
T3 T1 Irene Cho Southern California 71 74 145 +1
T30 3 Elizabeth Janangelo Duke 77 69 146 +2
T18 T4 Leanne Bowditch Pepperdine 75 72 147 +3
T12 T4 Ashley Knoll Texas A&M University 74 73 147 +3
T3 T4 Samantha Richdale * Illinois State Univ. 71 76 147 +3
T1 T7 Devan Andersen Texas 70 78 148 +4
T3 T7 Jennifer Pandolfi Duke 71 77 148 +4
T12 T9 Sara Brown Michigan State 74 75 149 +5
T45 T9 Allison Stewart Nebraska, U. of 79 70 149 +5
T18 T11 Jennifer Hong Northwestern Univ. 75 75 150 +6
T30 T11 Catalina Marin Southern California 77 73 150 +6
T7 T11 Whitney Myers Florida 73 77 150 +6
T3 T14 Stephanie Connelly Ohio State 71 80 151 +7
T12 T14 Tara Delaney Kent State 74 77 151 +7
T20 T14 Ornella Jouven Florida 76 75 151 +7
T7 T14 Alice Kim Northwestern Univ. 73 78 151 +7
T7 T14 Paola Moreno Southern California 73 78 151 +7
T20 T19 Julia Best Texas 76 76 152 +8
T39 T19 Camille Blackerby TCU 78 74 152 +8
T12 T19 Dayna Burleigh Michigan State 74 78 152 +8
T12 T19 Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State 74 78 152 +8
T30 T19 Chrissie McArdle Nebraska, U. of 77 75 152 +8
T7 T19 Dewi Schreefel Southern California 73 79 152 +8
T30 T19 Eileen Vargas Pepperdine 77 75 152 +8
T39 T26 Emily Klein Birmingham−Southern Col. 78 75 153 +9
T20 T26 Kira Meixner Kent State 76 77 153 +9
T12 T26 Anna Rehnholm Baylor 74 79 153 +9
T39 T29 Amanda Costner * Kansas, U. of 78 76 154 +10
T39 T29 Leisl Hasbrouck Tulsa 78 76 154 +10
T61 T29 Mercedes Huarte Jacksonville St. 81 73 154 +10
T20 T29 Carolina Llano Pepperdine 76 78 154 +10
T39 T29 Stephanie Ruiz Nebraska, U. of 78 76 154 +10
T30 T29 Becky Wood Kent State 77 77 154 +10
T30 T35 Jennifer Ackerson Southern Methodist 77 78 155 +11
T20 T35 Jayvie Agojo Pepperdine 76 79 155 +11
T30 T35 Cas Bridge Tulsa 77 78 155 +11
T20 T35 Marina Choi Pepperdine 76 79 155 +11
T20 T35 Sandra Gal Florida 76 79 155 +11
T57 T35 Kelley Louth Texas 80 75 155 +11
T45 T35 Jill Stupiansky Birmingham−Southern Col. 79 76 155 +11
T45 T42 Elli Brown Nebraska, U. of 79 77 156 +12
T7 T42 Ellen Hoeper Missouri, U. of 73 83 156 +12
T20 T42 Jennie Lee Duke 76 80 156 +12
T30 T45 Elin Emanuelsson TCU 77 80 157 +13
T20 T45 Veronica Felibert Southern California 76 81 157 +13
T45 T45 Brittany Johnston Northwestern Univ. 79 78 157 +13
T61 T45 Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State 81 76 157 +13
T82 T45 Allison Martin Baylor 84 73 157 +13
T45 T45 Holly Niederkohr Michigan State 79 78 157 +13
T57 T45 Sara Sackett Nebraska, U. of 80 77 157 +13
T69 T45 Stephanie Wavro Missouri, U. of 82 75 157 +13
T20 T53 Tiffany Chudy Florida 76 82 158 +14
T45 T53 Anna Grzebien Duke 79 79 158 +14
T45 T53 Dana Je Ohio State 79 79 158 +14
T39 T53 Amanda Johnson Oklahoma State 78 80 158 +14
T45 T53 Lauren Johnson Texas A&M University 79 79 158 +14
T57 T53 Catherine Matranga TCU 80 78 158 +14
T30 T53 Jennifer Selfinger Ohio State 77 81 158 +14
T45 T60 Laura Cross Southern Methodist 79 80 159 +15
T61 T60 Lacey Jones Southern Methodist 81 78 159 +15
T69 T60 Kate Meyer Texas A&M University 82 77 159 +15
T69 T60 Mallorie Underwood Oklahoma State 82 77 159 +15
T75 T64 Lauren Dodge Birmingham−Southern Col. 83 77 160 +16
T45 T64 Rachel Meikle Michigan State 79 81 160 +16
T75 T64 Katie Trachok Northwestern Univ. 83 77 160 +16
T61 67 Candie Herrera Oklahoma State 81 80 161 +17
T45 T68 Kate Ackerson Southern Methodist 79 83 162 +18
T69 T68 Kirby Dreher Kent State 82 80 162 +18
T89 T68 Meredith Jones Baylor 85 77 162 +18
T57 T68 Amy Schmucker * Michigan 80 82 162 +18
T61 T68 Heather Scholten Northwestern Univ. 81 81 162 +18
T89 T68 Christa Spedding Texas A&M University 85 77 162 +18
T61 T68 Sherry Summers Baylor 81 81 162 +18
T103 T75 Michaela Cavener Tulsa 89 74 163 +19
T75 T75 Brenda Norris Texas A&M University 83 80 163 +19
T61 T75 Danielle Roseberry Tulsa 81 82 163 +19
T61 T78 Maddie Augustsson Missouri, U. of 81 83 164 +20
T89 T78 Shasta Averyhardt Jackson State Univ. 85 79 164 +20
T75 T78 Mallory Blackwelder Florida 83 81 164 +20
T82 T78 Heather Rose Michigan State 84 80 164 +20
T82 T82 Carrie Morris TCU 84 81 165 +21
T82 T82 Chelsea Schriewer Missouri, U. of 84 81 165 +21
T82 T82 Kelli Strubinger Missouri, U. of 84 81 165 +21
T75 85 Polly Travica Tulsa 83 83 166 +22
T95 T86 Caney Hines Texas 86 81 167 +23
T69 T86 Gemma Webster Ohio State 82 85 167 +23
T101 T88 Portia Abbott Jacksonville St. 88 80 168 +24
T82 T88 Alexandra Espinosa Jacksonville St. 84 84 168 +24
T89 T88 Brittany Givilancz Texas 85 83 168 +24
T75 T88 Samantha Milosh St. Francis Univ.−PA 83 85 168 +24
T75 T88 Kristina Rothengatter Southern Methodist 83 85 168 +24
T45 T88 Josefin Svenningsson Baylor 79 89 168 +24
T89 94 Shanelle Howell Jacksonville St. 85 84 169 +25
T69 95 Carling Coffing Ohio State 82 88 170 +26
T95 T96 Joi Hart Jackson State Univ. 86 85 171 +27
T95 T96 Mirielle LaBlanc Jackson State Univ. 86 85 171 +27
T99 T98 Karen Delaney Kent State 87 85 172 +28
T99 T98 Alyson Mitchell Birmingham−Southern Col. 87 85 172 +28
T89 T100 Louise Fleming Jacksonville St. 85 88 173 +29
T103 T100 Jordan Hardy Birmingham−Southern Col. 89 84 173 +29
105 102 Mary Kate Williams St. Francis Univ.−PA 90 88 178 +34
T101 103 Megan Schaeffer St. Francis Univ.−PA 88 92 180 +36
T95 104 Nikeya Peay Jackson State Univ. 86 96 182 +38
106 105 Stephanie Switzer St. Francis Univ.−PA 94 96 190 +46
T82 − Stacey Bieber TCU 84 D − −