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Women?s Golf Advances To NCAA Championship With Second Place Finish
5/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
ATHENS, GA.? For the 11th straight year, the top-ranked and top-seeded Duke women's golf team will participate in the NCAA Championship as the Blue Devils turned in a second place finish at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday, which was being played at the 6,335-Yard, Par 72 University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.
Florida, who entered the final round with a three stroke advantage, held on for a one-stroke victory over the Blue Devils with a 54-hole total of 883, after posting a 298 on Saturday. Duke fired an eight-over-par, 296, on the final day to finish with a total of 884. Rounding out the top eight teams who advanced to the NCAA Championship were Georgia (889), Auburn (894), Virginia (898), South Carolina (899), Wake Forest (899) and Furman (900).
The Blue Devils finished second in regional action for the third time out of the last four years, but Duke is the reigning three-time defending NCAA Champions and have won a total of five NCAA titles under the direction of Head Coach Dan Brooks.
“No, but I don't think they [the team] are [either],” said Brooks if he was pleased with how Duke played. “It doesn't come down to if I'm pleased -- they're disappointed in the results. But there is a kind of resolve in these athletes. We have a really great group of attitudes on this team. We're going to be a tougher team come nationals.”
Duke junior Amanda Blumenherst turned in her third straight second place finish in NCAA Regional play as she collected a final round of 74 to register a 54-hole ledger of 215, which was one-under-par. A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst produced an opening nine holes of seven pars, one bogey and one double-bogey to make the turn with a three-over-par, 38. She went on to bogey the 11th and 12th holes to move to five-over-par for the day before getting hot down the stretch.
“I was getting a little frustrated just because I was hitting the ball really well and not playing well,” said Blumenherst. “I kind of decided to just start fresh after I had bogied two holes in a row. I shook it off and almost pretended I was starting the first hole all over again. I played much better the last few holes and hit it the same, but a few more putts fell and I kind of stuck them a little closer. That was really it.”
Over the final five holes, Blumenherst notched three birdies and missed a tricky five-foot birdie putt on the 18th. Her top-10 finish gives her 31 for her career, which is a new school record, to move past Liz Janangelo (30). Blumenherst hit 13-of-14 fairways, 15 greens and had 34 putts on the day.
Earning the East Region individual title was South Carolina's Benedicte Toumpsin with a three-day ledger of 214. Toumpsin had a wild finish with a bogey on the 15th, a quadruple-bogey on No. 16 before registering birdies on the final two holes to win the title. Blumenherst tied for second along with Louisville's Sara-Maude Juneau.
Collecting Duke's best round of the day was senior Jennifer Pandolfi, who carded a three-under-par, 69, to finish tied for 20th with a 224. A native of Navarre, Fla., Pandolfi was coming off struggling with an 83 the day before but fired four birdies on the day to tie her best 18-hole score over her four years in regional play. She opened her day with a birdie on the first hole and then pared the next two before moving to two-under-par after a birdie on the 385-yard, par-four No. 4.
Pandolfi couldn't get up and down out of the sand on the sixth hole to suffer her only bogey of the day. She went on to play the final 12 holes at two-under-par, with birdies on No. 12 and No. 15. Over the three days, Pandolfi collected rounds of 72, 83 and 69. Her top 20 finish was her fourth of the season.
After opening the tournament with a key two-under-par, 70, on Thursday, freshman Kim Donovan closed with rounds of 78 and 80 to finish tied for 36th with a 228. On Saturday, Donovan had seven bogeys over her first 11 holes before paring the next four in a row. Her tee shot on the 150-yard, par-three 16th came up short and into the water, while earning a double-bogey. She closed strong when a five-foot birdie putt rolled in on the 18th.
Sophomore Alison Whitaker concluded her tournament with a second straight round of 77 to finish tied for 43rd with a 229. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, collected her lone birdie on the 356-yard, par-four sixth hole as she hit a pitching wedge to seven feet and made the putt. On the front nine, she was one-over-par with a 36 and one the back she posted a 41 with two bogeys and one double-bogey. Whitaker hit nine fairways and 12 greens for the day.
“I think we just kind of let a couple things that didn't go our way get to us,” said Whitaker on the regionals. “I was probably a little angrier than I should've been about some of the stuff that happened. We all know we've got the game to win tournaments like this, it's just a matter of believing and trusting in our game.”
Finishing tied for 48th with a 230 was junior Jennie Lee. Lee, a product of Henderson, Nev., kicked off her day with a double-bogey after suffering two lip-out putts. She then had pars on No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5, while totaling bogeys on No. 3 and No. 6. Lee stuck a pitching wedge to within four feet and made her only birdie of the day on the par-five seventh. She played the final 11 holes at one-over-par, with 10 pars and one bogey on the 15th.
“The golf course is a little more receptive,” commented Brooks on playing better at the Georgia course this time around. “They've softened up the greens -- the greens are a little more consistent. The largest thing that caused us to shoot better was the fact that we've already played on it for an entire round. We've already had one practice round and three days of competition before this one. We were mentally in a lot better place when we showed up this time.
Duke will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday, May 18 and will have practice rounds on Sunday and Monday. The Blue Devils will open the NCAA Championship on Tuesday, May 20 beginning at 1:20 p.m., followed by a second round tee time of 8:50 a.m., at the 6,424-Yard, Par 72 University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.
“We definitely have a few things we need to work on [prior to nationals],” said Blumenherst. “It is going to be tough this year, it is going to be a challenge and we are going to have to work hard to win another one. It is not going to be given to us by any means. These teams are out here to beat us. We have some work to do this next week or so. I think it is more mental than anything -- just buckling down and playing hard. We all have the talent to win, it is just being able to focus.”
Duke Notes:
* Former Duke All-America and assistant coach Kalen Anderson was in the grouping with the Blue Devils for the first time as the head coach at South Carolina on Saturday in the final round.
* The Blue Devils totaled 16 birdies in the first round, then six in the second round and 10 in the final round.
* Jennie Lee registered 14 greens, 13 fairways and 36 putts in the final round.
* Senior Jennifer Pandolfi totaled 27 putts, 12 fairways and hit 12 greens on the day.
* After a little thunderstorm around 5:00 a.m., on Saturday, the course was a little wet to start the day and as the round went along a slight wind starting to arrive.
Duke Golfers
Amanda Blumenherst 68-73-74=215 (-1, t2nd)
Jennifer Pandolfi 72-83-69=224 (+8, t20th)
Kim Donovan 70-78-80=228 (+12, t36th)
Alison Whitaker 75-77-77=229 (+13, t43rd)
Jennie Lee 79-75-76=230 (+14, t48th)
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Players Mentioned
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