Three Blue Devils Selected To U.S. Curtis Cup Squad for 2008

DURHAM, N.C. ? The squad that will represent the United States of America at the 2008 Curtis Cup has been named with three Duke women's golfers earning spots on the prestigious eight-woman amateur golf team. Amanda Blumenherst, Jennie Lee and Mina Harigae will each travel to St. Andrews, Scotland to play the Old Course from May 30-June 1, 2008.

Other golfers selected were Meghan Bolger, Kimberly Kim, Tiffany Joh, Stacy Lewis and Alison Walshe. The Curtis Cup Match, scheduled every other year, features eight female amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland and eight players who represent the USA. Beginning this year, the Match will change to a three-day format, featuring three foursomes (alternate shot) and three four-ball (better-ball) matches on the first two days. On the final day, all eight players from each side will play in singles matches.

The 2008 USA team will be captained by seven-time USGA champion Carol Semple Thompson, 59, of Sewickley, Pa. Thompson, who counts the 1973 U.S. Women's Amateur among her seven USGA titles, also served as captain of the USA squad that won the 2006 Curtis Cup Match at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.

Blumenherst, a junior on the Duke women's golf team, was the runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst tied for low-amateur honors at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open and also made the cut at the 2007 Women's Open. In addition to playing on the 2006 USA Curtis Cup team (1-2 overall record), she represented the USA at the 2006 Women's World Amateur Team Championship. Among her numerous collegiate victories are the 2006 and 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships. Blumenherst, a two-time national collegiate player of the year and first-team All-America, was the 2006 Edith Cummings Mason Golf Award honoree, which recognizes the female All-America golfer with the highest grade-point average. She was also honored as the 2007 Nancy Lopez Award winner, which recognizes the top amateur female golfer.

Lee, a junior at Duke, tied for low-amateur honors at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open and made the cut at the 2004 Women's Open. In addition to playing on the victorious 2006 USA Curtis Cup team (2-1 overall record), she was a member of the USA team that won the 2007 Copa de las Americas and represented the USA at the 2006 Women's World Amateur Team Championship. A product of Henderson, Nev., Lee is a three-time quarterfinalist at the U.S. Women's Amateur. Lee was the 2006 NCAA Division I runner-up. She earned second-team collegiate All-America honors in 2006-07.

Harigae, a high-school senior who will attend Duke in the fall of 2008, won the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She made the cut at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open and has played in five U.S. Women's Amateurs and five U.S. Girls' Juniors. Harigae, a two-time semifinalist at the Girls' Junior, was the stroke-play medalist at the 2006 championship after shooting an 8-under-par 64. A native of Monterey, Calif., Harigae is a four-time California Women's State Amateur champion and has been an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex All-America first-team selection three times.

Duke has registered at least one member on the last nine straight U.S. Curtis Cup teams dating back to 1992.

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