Blue Devils Claim Their Fourth NGCA Match Play Championship

KISSIMMEE, FLA. ? The Duke Women's Golf Team made it four National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Collegiate Match Play Championships in four appearances on Tuesday as the top-seeded Blue Devils cruised to a 3-1-1 victory over sixth-seeded Georgia at the Ginn Resort in Kissimmee, Fla.

Duke has now posted match play championships in 2007, 2006, 2004 and 2003.

“It was great,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “I can't say enough about how patient they were especially in the first two matches, which was all on one day. That was really the key to getting us some momentum and getting us going. Those were our two hardest matches; the two first 18 hole rounds were the hardest. It seems kind of weird, but I feel like the matches didn't get tougher as we went along. Today Georgia was, I felt, the most comfortable that we were going to win today out of all the four rounds.”

On Tuesday, junior Amanda Blumenherst got things off to a quick start as she won the second hole to take a 1-up lead and never looked back. A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst then won No. 5, No. 6 and five straight from No. 8 through No. 12 to close out the match against Innapha Tantanavivat. Blumenherst won 8 & 6 and finished the championship with a 3-0-1 record. In two appearances in the match play championship, Blumenherst has totaled a 7-0-1 record.

With a 1-0 lead the Blue Devils wasted no time going up 2-0 as Alison Whitaker won the first two holes against Mallory Hetzel and never trailed. With four holes remaining, Whitaker closed out the match winning 5 & 4. A product of Melbourne, Australia, Whitaker finished off her second NGCA Match Play with a 4-0 record. It marks the second straight year she has gone undefeated in the championship.

“She's a pretty cool competitor,” said Brooks. “She stands on her own. The position we play her in she doesn't have anybody paired with her. She's playing as a Duke player by herself, but she's got the personality for that. She's going to be comfortable, I think, in any environment, so that's why we put her out there. She volunteered for it, and I didn't have any problem with that.”

Looking for her first victory of the championship, Blue Devil freshman Kim Donovan went up against Krystle Caithness. The duo played the first four holes at all-square and then Donovan took control on No. 5 and No. 6 as she won the holes to take a 2-up lead. Donovan, who is from Hopkinton, Mass., put away the match on the par three, 15th hole with a birdie to win 5 & 3 and clinch the team victory for Duke.

“Of course nobody knows except the person you're riding with, the other players don't know what's going on,” said Brooks. “One of the things we did is we put [Kim] Donovan and Amanda [Blumenherst] together, which I think was a really good match-up. And also, previously, Rebecca [Kim] was with Amanda, and I think just having the younger players teamed up with Amanda was a good choice; I think that helped us. And then to have those two feeding off each other and getting up pretty early, getting pretty big margins early, that really makes you feel comfortable. Because I knew those two with considerable leads, it was pretty clear to me that one of the three other matches was going to be a win for us, and you only need three.”

Blue Devil senior Jennifer Pandolfi led her match against Carolina Andrade for the first nine holes, 1-up, but Andrade won No. 9 and No. 10 to take a 1-up lead. Andrade maintained the lead during the next four holes but Pandolfi was able to get the match back at all-square by winning the 15th and took a 1-up lead on the 16th with the victory. With a bogey on the 17th by Pandolfi, Andrade got the match back to all-square and that is where the match ended -- halved.

In the final match, Garrett Phillips of Georgia posted a 2 & 1 victory over junior Jennie Lee. The match started on the 18th hole and Phillips took the early lead. She maintained the lead pretty much through the first eight holes before Lee won No. 7 and No. 10 to take a 1-up advantage. Phillips won No. 13 and never trailed the rest of the way closing the match off with one hole remaining.

Pandolfi, who is a native of Navarre, Fla., closed out her NGCA Match Play Championship career with a 9-2-1 overall record as she was 3-0-1 in 2007.

“I love this match play, and I think they do too,” said Brooks. “I enjoy it because you can see everything right in front of you. You're not guessing as to how you stand. You get a couple reports from spectators, and what you can see just right before you, and you know everything that's going on. So that's what makes it fun. It's supposed to be match play. That's what this game was built on, match play. It's nice to not have to lug around your mistakes. In stroke play you've got to lug those mistakes around, and then here you just get to lose one hole, and you're done. It just moves faster.”
Duke closed out the fall season and will next play Feb. 25-27 at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.

About National Golf Coaches Association
The National Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The NGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the NGCA represents over 400 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.

About Central Florida Sports Commission
The Central Florida Sports Commission is a non-profit, private organization created to attract international, national and regional events and sports-related business and activities to Central Florida. The Sports Commission serves as the clearinghouse and first point of contact for sports and sports-related activities in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake and Volusia Counties, as well as the City of Orlando.

About Ginn Reunion Resort
Ginn Reunion Resort is a luxury golf resort in Orlando, Fla. with up to 6,000 varied accommodations including single- and multi-family homes, condominiums and townhomes. Amenities include three Signature golf courses, award-winning tennis, a boutique spa, a waterpark and state-of-the-art meeting space. The centerpiece of the community is Reunion Grande, a luxury high-rise with 82 one- and two-bedroom suites and fine dining. Ginn Reunion Resort is developed, owned and operated by Ginn Resorts of Celebration, Fla., a privately-held resort development and management firm specializing in exclusive leisure lifestyle and vacation destination communities throughout the United States and the Caribbean. For more information, visit www.reunionresort.com.

- d - u - k - e -

(1) Duke University def. (6) University of Georgia, 3-1-1

Amanda Blumenherst, Duke def. Innapha Tantanavivat, UGA, 8&6
Kim Donovan, Duke def. Krystle Caithness, UGA, 5&3
Garrett Phillips, UGA def. Jennie Lee, Duke, 2&1
Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke and Carolina Andrade, UGA, Match Halved
Alison Whitaker, Duke def. Mallory Hetzel, UGA, 5&4