Blumenherst, Duke Claim ACC Women?s Golf Crowns In Record Fashion

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - In thrilling and record fashion, the top-ranked Duke women's golf team captured its 13th straight ACC Championship on Sunday as the Blue Devils won by one stroke over 23rd-ranked Virginia, while junior Amanda Blumenherst became the first three-time ACC Champion as she also won the individual title by one stroke at the 6,315-Yard, Par 72 LPGA International Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.

In a championship that came down to the final hole to determine the team and individual champion, Duke carded a final round total of 292 and finished the championship with a 54-hole total of 871. Virginia, who led by 10 strokes after day one and was tied with the Blue Devils after the second round, carded a 293 on Sunday to finish with an 872.

Rounding out the field were Florida State (880), who shot a team-best 291 on the final day, Wake Forest (894), North Carolina (904), North Carolina State (915), Maryland (922), Miami (933) and Boston College (963).

During a day which saw Duke drop to third place at one point after opening the round 10-over-par through six holes, the Blue Devils finally took their first lead of the 2008 ACC Championship at 12:36 p.m., on Sunday. The lead would not last long as Virginia put together another run led by Lene Krog's four birdies over the final five holes.

The match would be all-square towards the end before Virginia's Jennie Arseneault registered a birdie on the 17th hole to give the Cavaliers a one-stroke advantage. The lead would not last long as Blue Devil sophomore Alison Whitaker hit her approach on the 18th hole to within 12 feet and made the tournament-tying birdie. After notching the birdie on No. 17, Arseneault hit her approach shot on No. 18 out of bounds and ended up making a triple-bogey, which moved her score from two-over-par to five-over-par for the day.

Virginia would then need to count freshman Calle Nielson's score of three-over-par as she waited in the 18th fairway to hit her approach. During this same time, Duke senior Jennifer Pandolfi could not get up and down from in front of the 18th green and made a bogey, which kept the ledger knotted at seven-over-par for both Virginia and Duke.

Both Blumenherst and Nielson each hit their approach shots on 18 off the green and had to get up and down to win the tournament. Nielson was not able to hit a six-foot putt for par, but Blumenherst calmly drained a six-footer to win both the team and individual crowns.

Florida State's Caroline Westrup led the individual action by one stroke after a birdie on the 16th hole, but she would go on to three-putt the final two holes as Blumenherst registered up-and-downs to claim her record third straight ACC crown with a 54-hole total of 212. Westrup finished at 213, while Nielson (216), Pandolfi (217) and Wake Forest's Natalie Sheary (218) rounded out the top five individuals.

A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst had a roller coaster day as she did not play her best round of golf, but it didn't show with a one-under-par, 71, on Sunday. She totaled eight pars over the first nine holes to go along with a birdie on the 480-yard, par five eighth hole. This was keyed by a great comeback on No. 9 as she hooked her drive into the water, but was able to hit a 15-foot par-saving putt to keep her score at one-under-par. On the back, she continued to grind it out as she had a key chip within one foot for par on No. 12 and a double-bogey on No. 13 due to another hooked drive.

With the double-bogey, Blumenherst dropped out of a share of the lead with Westrup, but that didn't last long as she holed a chip from off the green for eagle on the 485-yard, par five 14th hole with a lob wedge. She went on to garner up-and-downs on three out of the final four holes. For the day, Blumenherst registered seven up-and-downs and had no three-putts. She hit 8-of-9 greens on the front nine and totaled 26 putts on the day.

Concluding with her best finish of the season was Pandolfi, who was fourth with rounds of 71, 72 and 74 for a total of 217. Playing in her final collegiate tournament in her home state of Florida, Pandolfi opened her day with bogies on the first two holes. A native of Navarre, Fla., Pandolfi settled down to par the next seven holes on her way to making the turn with a two-over-par, 38. She opened the back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole, pars on No. 11 and No. 13, but had a bogey on the 12th. Pandolfi settled down to roll in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 485-yard, par five No. 14 before suffering the bogey on the final hole.

Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, finished tied for sixth in the individual action, which marked her third top-10 finish of the season with a three-day total of 219. She closed the day with an even-par, 72, that included five birdies, five bogeys and eight pars. Two of her biggest birdies came on No. 15 and No. 18, which played a big role in Duke winning the team title.

The unsung hero for the final round for the Blue Devils was freshman Kim Donovan, who had collected rounds of 79 the first two days. This was not so on Sunday as the Hopkinton, Mass., product battled back from being five-over-par through 12 holes to close the final six holes at two-under-par. Donovan notched birdie putts on No. 13 and No. 16 during a back nine where she hit seven greens, five fairways and had 14 putts. Her key momentum shifter was on No. 10 as she was able to get a sand save with a 10-foot par putt. She finished the day with a three-over-par, 75, and finished tied for 28th with a total of 233.

After turning in rounds of 74 the first two days, junior Jennie Lee struggled with a 77 on Sunday. A native of Henderson, Nev., Lee had only one birdie on the day, while posting four bogeys and one double-bogey. She finished the tournament tied for 17th with a 54-hole ledger of 225.

Duke notched 11 birdies in the final round, after posting 12 birdies each of the first two days. The Blue Devils also had only three double-bogeys for the second straight round, which was two shy of the five Duke had in the first round on Friday.

The Blue Devils will next await the NCAA Tournament selection announced on Monday, April 28 at 5:00 p.m., which will announce which regional site Duke will be sent to. The sites include Athens, Ga., Sacramento, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

Fans that missed Sunday's final round can head to www.accselect.com for a replay of the action. ACC Select is a broadband network that gives fans exclusive video access to the sports they love, the teams they care about and the games not available anywhere else. With full-screen video delivered right to the computer, ACC Select provides front row access to events whenever fans want?live or on-demand replay.

Duke Notes:

Amanda Blumenherst won her 11th career tournament, which is one shy of Mary Anne Widman's Duke career mark of 12.
Amanda Blumenherst now owns 61 rounds of even or under par for her career, which is a school record. She also posted her 27th career top-10 finish, which ranks tied for second.
Overall, Duke has won the ACC Championship in 1984, ?85, ?93, ?96, ?97, ?98, ?99, 2000, ?01, ?02, ?03, ?04, ?05, ?06, ?07 and ?08. Head Coach Dan Brooks has led Duke to 15 of the 16 championships over his 24 seasons.
A Duke golfer has now been the ACC Individual Champion in nine out of the last 10 years. Ten different Blue Devils have claimed individual honors at the ACC Championship? Mary Anne Widman (1984), Evelyn Orley (1985), Kathi Poppmeier (1994), Jenny Chuasiriporn (1996 & 1997), Beth Bauer (1999), Maria Garcia-Estrada (2000), Nirapathpongporn (2001), Candy Hannemann (2002), Brittany Lang (2004 & 2005) and Amanda Blumenherst (2006, 2007 and 2008).
Freshman Kim Donovan registered only her 13th round counted on the season out of a total of 27 rounds.
Amanda Blumenherst registered her fourth eagle of the season and has counted all 27 rounds played as a junior.
The title marks the 108th ACC Championship in Duke history for all sports and the first in the 2007-08 season.
It marks Duke's 58th championship in spring sports, third most in the ACC, and 47th in women's sports, second most in the ACC. It's also the 39th championship this decade, second most among ACC schools.
The 16th championship for women's golf is the most among ACC schools and matches the program with the men's basketball team for most ACC championships for Duke sports.
Duke has now won at least one ACC Championship every season since 1979-80 and in 44 of 55 years of the league's existence.
The women's golf run of 13 straight championships is the second-longest streak in school history behind women's tennis (14). It is also the longest current streak in the ACC for all sports and is the third longest streak in women's sports in ACC history.
By finishing ahead of North Carolina in the final standings, Duke earns a point in the annual Carlyle Cup competition, an all-sports competition between the two schools. North Carolina currently leads this season, 17-8, with just the men's golf point remaining.

Duke Golfers	1	2	3	Total	To Par	Finish
Amanda Blumenherst	73	68	71	212	-4	1
Jennifer Pandolfi	71	72	74	217	E	4
Alison Whitaker	76	71	72	219	+3	t-6
Jennie Lee	74	74	77	225	+9	t-17
Kim Donovan	79	79	75	233	+17	t-28