Blumenherst Wins 10th Career Tournament By Three Strokes At The Wildcat Invitational

TUCSON, ARIZ. ? For the 10th time in three years at Duke, junior Amanda Blumenherst is an individual medalist as the two-time National Player of the Year carded a 54-hole total of 213 at the Wildcat Invitational to win by three strokes at the 6,238-yard, Par 71 Arizona National. As a team, the top-ranked Blue Devils finished in second place with a three-day total of 886.

“It feels great,” said Blumenherst on the victory. “I as a little apprehensive and nervous coming into this tournament as I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I would have liked. We also hadn't played in a tournament since basically the end of October. I was pleased how I played as I hit the ball much better than I did back in Durham during practice. Getting back in the swing of things felt great and coming out with a win was an excellent way to start and excellent confidence builder.”

Taking home the team title was Oklahoma State with a 54-hole total of 884. The Blue Devils finished tied for second with rounds of 288, 302 and 296 for a total of 886, which was two shots off the lead. Southern California (886) was tied for second along with Duke following by Arizona State (901), UCLA (904), New Mexico (907), Pepperdine (914), Auburn (917) and Stanford (917) in the top 10.

“We were two shots back and for this being our first tournament, it was a good finish,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “This tournament is always one that we try to prepare, get ready for the season and access where we are at. I am pretty happy with what I saw.”

All the teams had to deal with 20-25 mph winds over the final two days of competition that saw the scores shoot up over the final 36 holes.

“It was so windy and really tough,” said Blumenherst. “It was extremely important for me at least to keep remembering that everyone else was having to deal with these same conditions. It was easy to feel sorry for yourself or get overwhelmed with how windy it was. The ball was basically taken and thrown all over the place. I tried to stay strong, play my game and stay focused.”

Blumenherst won the Wildcat Invitational for the second straight year with rounds of 68, 72 and 73 for a ledger of 213, which was three shots better than Belen Mozo (216) of Southern California. Her 10 wins is two shy of former Duke star Mary Anne Widman's career mark of 12 set from 1981-84.

“She just played real solid,” said Brooks. “Actually, I think she got a little bit frustrated today because a some putts didn't fall in. I think today could have gone under par as she handled the wind very well and couldn't get the putts to fall in.”

On Wednesday, Blumenherst began her day with two birdies over her first five holes and was one-under-par through No. 6. A Scottsdale, Ariz., product, Blumenherst then suffered a rare double-bogey on No. 7 followed by four bogeys over the next five holes to drop to five-over-par on the day. She saw her individual lead evaporate into a tie for first, but the two-time All-America played the final six holes at three-under-par to claim the victory. Blumenherst carded birdies on the 13th, 17th and 18th holes. She was one of only two players who registered a birdie on the 158-yard, par three on Wednesday.

“I started off strong and then the wind really picked up around hole five,” said Blumenherst. “When I hit hole seven I think I was letting the wind get to me. It was really hard to putt as the ball was shaking and I lost focus. I had to basically concentrate, pay attention to playing and not let the conditions get the better of me.”

Finishing off another solid tournament for the Blue Devils was junior Jennie Lee, who notched her 10th career top-10 finish as she was tied for eighth with a 221. Lee posted rounds of 74, 74 and 73 over the three days. A native of Henderson, Nev., Lee began her day on the second hold and played her first nine holes at two-under-par. She struggled on the back nine with three bogeys and one double-bogey, but closed out on the 356-yard, par four first hole with a birdie to post a 73.

“Jennie is really tough,” said Brooks. “She has worked hard through the winter and didn't let the cold weather stop her from getting her work done. That is why she came out playing well.”

Coming off her second-worst round of the 2007-08 campaign with a 79, sophomore Alison Whitaker fired a three-over-par, 74, on the final day to finish tied for 24th with a 224. She kicked off her day on the third hole and had a rocky beginning four straight bogeys. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, shook off her start and played the next 14 holes at one-under-par. She registered birdies on the 11th, 16th and 2nd holes. After notching zero birdies on day one, Whitaker closed the weekend with seven birdies in 36 holes.

Senior Jennifer Pandolfi finished off the tournament with rounds of 72, 77 and 80 for a total of 229, which was tied for 34th, while freshman Kim Donovan was tied for 58th with a total of 237. Donovan notched her best round of the week on Wednesday as she totaled birdies on her first and last holes on her way to shooting a 76.

“Kim's round today was good,” said Brooks. “The way she was talking she felt some things today that she has been trying to look for. This was a pretty important round for her and will help her in the preparation for the next tournament.”

Playing as an individual, sophomore Yu Young Lee turned in rounds of 75, 83 and 84 for a total of 242, which was tied for 67th.

As a team, the Blue Devils registered 15 birdies on the final day of action. With Donovan posting a counting round on Wednesday, all five golfers notched at least one counting round on the week. Duke will next travel to the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla., from March 9-11.

Duke Results
1 1 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 68 72 73 213 E
T10 T8 Jennie Lee Duke 74 74 73 221 +8
T32 T24 Alison Whitaker Duke 74 79 74 227 +14
T15 T34 Jennifer Pandolfi Duke 72 77 80 229 +16
T66 T58 Kimberly Donovan Duke 77 84 76 237 +24
T58 T67 Yu Young Lee * Duke 75 83 84 242 +29

- d - u - k - e -

rank team scores
1 Oklahoma State 288 298 298 884 +32
T2 Southern California 296 300 290 886 +34
T2 Duke 288 302 296 886 +34
4 Arizona 288 308 303 899 +47
5 Arizona State 287 316 298 901 +49
6 UCLA 288 321 295 904 +52
7 New Mexico 298 307 302 907 +55
8 Pepperdine 293 316 305 914 +62
T9 Auburn 292 314 311 917 +65
T9 Stanford 303 314 300 917 +65
11 California 297 321 306 924 +72
12 Brigham Young Univ. 309 309 307 925 +73
13 Texas 304 318 304 926 +74
14 Vanderbilt 305 328 306 939 +87
15 Washington 307 314 322 943 +91
16 UNLV 325 314 312 951 +99

Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 68 72 73 213 E
2 T2 Jaclyn Sweeney Oklahoma State 71 72 73 216 +3
T10 T2 Belen Mozo Southern California 74 74 68 216 +3
T6 4 Mari Chun Stanford 69 77 73 219 +6
T10 T5 Taylore Karle Pepperdine 71 77 72 220 +7
T19 T5 Tiffany Joh UCLA 70 80 70 220 +7
T3 T5 Alison Walshe Arizona 71 74 75 220 +7
T3 T8 Azahara Munoz Arizona State 72 73 76 221 +8
T8 T8 Lizette Salas Southern California 72 75 74 221 +8
T10 T8 Jennie Lee Duke 74 74 73 221 +8
T6 11 Tammy Clelland Oklahoma State 70 76 76 222 +9
T15 T12 Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State 73 76 74 223 +10
T10 T12 Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State 74 74 75 223 +10
T19 T12 Alexandra Phelps New Mexico 77 73 73 223 +10
T8 T12 Jodi Ewart New Mexico 71 76 76 223 +10
T28 T16 Glory Yang UCLA 70 82 72 224 +11
T28 T16 Stefanie Endstrasser Southern California 73 79 72 224 +11
T15 T16 Juliana Murcia Arizona State 70 79 75 224 +11
T10 T16 Alejandra Llaneza Arizona 70 78 76 224 +11
T3 T20 Joanne Lee * Southern California 75 70 80 225 +12
T19 T20 Sydnee Michaels UCLA 73 77 75 225 +12
T19 T20 Pia Halbig California 73 77 75 225 +12
T24 23 Ashley Rollins Texas 76 75 75 226 +13
T45 T24 Britney Choy New Mexico 77 78 72 227 +14
T38 T24 Rebecca Durham Stanford 80 74 73 227 +14
T32 T24 Alison Whitaker Duke 74 79 74 227 +14
T32 T24 Allison Goodman California 74 79 74 227 +14
T32 T24 Mary Jacobs Arizona 73 80 74 227 +14
T38 T24 Mariana Macias Auburn 73 81 73 227 +14
T45 T24 Jennifer Osborn Arizona State 71 84 72 227 +14
T19 T24 Candace Schepperle Auburn 74 76 77 227 +14
T38 T32 Natalia Jimenez Brigham Young Univ. 76 78 74 228 +15
T24 T32 Jayvie Agojo Pepperdine 72 79 77 228 +15
T15 T34 Jennifer Pandolfi Duke 72 77 80 229 +16
T24 T34 Emily Mason Arizona 74 77 78 229 +16
T38 T34 Anna Nordqvist Arizona State 74 80 75 229 +16
T52 T34 Therese Koelbaek UNLV 83 73 73 229 +16
T45 T34 Caney Hines Texas 75 80 74 229 +16
T38 39 Paola Moreno Southern California 78 76 76 230 +17
T28 T40 Juli Erekson Brigham Young Univ. 77 75 79 231 +18
T32 T40 Shannon Yocum California 70 83 78 231 +18
T45 T40 Anya Alvarez Washington 77 78 76 231 +18
T56 T40 Brooke Goodwin Vanderbilt 75 82 74 231 +18
T58 T44 Liebelei Lawrence Vanderbilt 77 81 74 232 +19
T24 T44 Molly Aronsson Washington 73 78 81 232 +19
T15 T44 Cydney Clanton Auburn 72 77 83 232 +19
T28 T44 Dewi Claire Schreefel Southern California 77 75 80 232 +19
T38 T44 Leanne Bowditch Pepperdine 73 81 78 232 +19
T32 T49 Ashley Childers Brigham Young Univ. 79 74 80 233 +20
T32 T49 Amanda Wilson Arizona 74 79 80 233 +20
T52 51 Angela King Stanford 77 79 78 234 +21
T38 T52 Julia Best Texas 75 79 81 235 +22
T66 T52 Daphne Vines Brigham Young Univ. 77 84 74 235 +22
T45 T52 Abigale Schepperle Auburn 73 82 80 235 +22
T63 T55 Jacqui Concolino Vanderbilt 77 82 77 236 +23
T56 T55 Ryann O'Toole UCLA 75 82 79 236 +23
T45 T55 Morgan Grantham New Mexico 73 82 81 236 +23
T66 T58 Kimberly Donovan Duke 77 84 76 237 +24
T58 T58 Christina Yoon Washington 80 78 79 237 +24
T52 T58 Margaret Shirley Auburn 76 80 81 237 +24
T66 T58 Piper Miller Stanford 77 84 76 237 +24
T72 62 Shannon Fish Texas 78 84 77 239 +26
T63 T63 Megan Grehan Vanderbilt 76 83 81 240 +27
T72 T63 Maria Jose Uribe UCLA 80 82 78 240 +27
T72 T65 Roseanne Niven California 80 82 79 241 +28
T45 T65 Alejandra Guacaneme UNLV 73 82 86 241 +28
T58 T67 Sarah Thead * Auburn 79 79 84 242 +29
T58 T67 Yu Young Lee * Duke 75 83 84 242 +29
T66 69 Amanda Johnson Oklahoma State 76 85 83 244 +31
T58 T70 Mikaela Backstedt New Mexico 78 80 87 245 +32
T52 T70 Martine de Gannes Pepperdine 77 79 89 245 +32
T66 T70 Py Bengtsson * New Mexico 79 82 84 245 +32
T80 T73 Ki-Shui Liao Stanford 82 86 78 246 +33
T72 T73 Nicole McGirr * UNLV 77 85 84 246 +33
T80 T73 Tonya Choate UNLV 86 82 78 246 +33
76 T73 Kasi Lee UNLV 86 77 83 246 +33
65 T77 Karinn Dickinson Washington 77 83 88 248 +35
T85 T77 Melissa Mabanta UNLV 83 87 78 248 +35
T85 T77 Stephanie Gelleni Pepperdine 79 91 78 248 +35
77 T77 Victoria Alimonda * Southern California 78 86 84 248 +35
79 81 Camila Sola * Arizona State 82 84 84 250 +37
T82 T82 Hannah Summerhays * Brigham Young Univ. 80 89 82 251 +38
78 T82 Katie Saucier Washington 85 80 86 251 +38
T82 84 Brittany Benvenuto * Arizona 86 83 83 252 +39
T66 T85 Sara Romero Brigham Young Univ. 79 82 94 255 +42
T89 T85 Kristin Walla Texas 83 94 78 255 +42
T82 87 Belinda Diamond California 80 89 87 256 +43
T89 88 Julie Bartholomew Vanderbilt 89 88 83 260 +47
T87 89 Brooke Schneider * Arizona 82 91 88 261 +48
T91 90 Liisa Kelo * Arizona State 86 92 86 264 +51