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Blue Devils Start Slow On Day One At NCAA Championships
5/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ? The reigning three-time NCAA Champion Duke women's golf team started slow on Tuesday afternoon as the Blue Devils carded an 11-over-par, 299, and will enter the second round 15 strokes off the lead at the NCAA Championship, which is being played at the 6,424-Yard, Par 72 University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
Southern California continued its solid play totaling a four-under-par, 284, and leads the field by five strokes. UCLA (289) is second along with Auburn (289), while Arizona State (290), Denver (293), Wake Forest (293), Oklahoma State (294), Texas A&M (295), Virginia (296) and Alabama (296) round out the top 10. Georgia (297) and Tulsa are tied for 11th before a logjam at tied for 13th with five squads -- TCU (298), Texas (298), UC Davis (298), Arkansas (298) and Purdue (298). Duke is 18th with a 299, while LSU (300) and Florida (301) are 19th and 20th, respectively.
Since Duke registered its first NCAA title in 1999, the Blue Devils have never led after day one at the NCAA Championship. The 15-stroke deficit going into the second round is the largest during that period with the next closest coming in 2003 as Duke trailed Southern California by 10 strokes and were tied for 11th. The Blue Devils came back in 2002 from nine strokes after the first round to knock off Arizona for their second NCAA title.
During Duke's second place finish at the NCAA East Regional on May 10, the Blue Devils struggled knocking down putts and the same was happening in round one as all five Duke golfers had over 30 putts each. The Blue Devils managed only eight birdies with the most coming from sophomore Alison Whitaker, even though she shot a 10-over-par, 82. Junior Jennie Lee notched Duke's lone birdie on a par five on Tuesday.
Carding the best round of the day for Duke was senior Jennifer Pandolfi, who is vying to close out her career as the first golfer in NCAA history to win four NCAA Championships. She totaled a 73 and is tied for 23rd, individually. A native of Navarre, Fla., Pandolfi had a rough start to her day as she hit her drive too far left on the first hole and had to take an unplayable. She went on to register her only three-putt of the day and finished with a double-bogey on No. 1.
Pandolfi settled down and played the next 11 holes at two-under-par with birdies on No. 7 and No. 12. A product of Navarre, Fla., Pandolfi hit an 8-iron to five feet and knocked in her first birdie on the seventh hole and then drained a 35-foot birdie putt on the 158-yard, par-three 12th. She closed with five pars and her lone bogey of the day on the 16th. Pandolfi hit 7-of-14 fairways, 14 greens and had 33 putts on the day.
Coming off having the worst finish on the team at regionals, Lee continued to play solid golf when it counts at the NCAA Championship as the totaled a 74 and is tied for 44th. A product of Henderson, Nev., Lee totaled the best start of the day for Duke as she pared the first eight holes before knocking down a birdie on the 454-yard, par-five ninth as she rolled in a six-foot birdie putt. On the front nine, she hit eight greens and 6-of-7 fairways. The back nine wasn't as kind as she bogied No. 13, No. 14 and No. 17 on her way to carding a 39 on the final nine holes.
Amanda Blumenherst, the top-ranked golfer in the nation and two-time National Player of the Year, had an up-and-down day as she finished with a 75 in the first round. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst had eight pars and a bogey on the third hole on her way to making the turn with a 37. On No. 3, she hit her approach shot into the greenside bunker and could not get up and down.
The junior opened the back nine with a three-putt bogey on the 10th hole before collecting two straight birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, which brought her score back to even par. An unlucky lie off the tee on the par-four 15th led to a double-bogey and a three-putt bogey on the 17th led to a three-over-par score over the final four holes. She enters round two tied for 53rd in the individual standings.
After 18 holes freshman Kim Donovan is tied for 85th with a round of 77. Donovan, who is from Hopkinton, Mass., opened the day with a bogey on No. 1 as her tee shot found the trees on the right side and forced her to punch out towards the green. She got that shot back on the sixth hole as she drained a seven-foot birdie putt to move back to even par. As the weather got hotter in the afternoon, Donovan slipped a little with bogeys on eight, 10, 11, 15 and 17 to go along with seven pars. For the day, she had 35 putts, hit 12 greens and hit 12-of-14 fairways.
Whitaker, who notched a team-best three birdies on the day, struggled for most of the round as she finished with a career-worst round of 82, which is tied for 122, individually. The opening holes on each nine were rough for Whitaker as she notched a double-bogey on No. 1 and a triple-bogey on No. 2. She did notch birdies on No. 8, No. 13 and No. 15, while making the turn after nine holes at four-over-par, 40.
The championship still has three days remaining and the Blue Devils will tee off on Wednesday in the second round beginning at 8:50 a.m., off the 10th hole along with Arizona State and Purdue.
Duke Results
- T23 Jennifer Pandolfi Duke 73 +1
- T44 Jennie Lee Duke 74 +2
- T53 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 75 +3
- T85 Kimberly Donovan Duke 77 +5
- T122 Alison Whitaker Duke 82 +10
Duke Quotes
Head Coach Dan Brooks
“Our mindset is good. I got the reaction from my team that I thought I would get. I went over and said a bunch of things that I didn't need to say to them because they were already there. They know how golf is and they know that the score needs to unfold on its own. You don't know how things are going to come out. The important thing is not to be effected overly positively or overly negatively by the way things are unfolding. Because it is a big picture -- it is a four-day tournament. I know they are on board with that.”
“In this team golf, particularly with the weather we have coming. A lot can happen -- you can turn this thing around in a few holes. We are still positive.”
“If anything -- the ball isn't going in the hole. We are not converting some things. The overall golf looks pretty good, but you just have to get that little rascal in the hole.”
On Southern California playing well and not looking like they will fall back:
“I never expect anybody to come back to us. It is always up to you to go and play well. Then if they come back to you it is a bonus.”
Amanda Blumenherst
“It really wasn't that difficult [today]. The wind definitely picked up on the last few holes, but I didn't play great. A few putts didn't fall or the score could have been turned around a little bit. I made a mental mistake on one hole and that stuff kind of adds up, especially when you don't have many birdies. I felt like I hit it well. Some of these greens have enough slope where if you just hit in a certain spot it is hard to make a birdie putt and you are trying to two-putt.”
On the team:
“Coach [Brooks] is excited about how we are playing. A few things didn't go our way [today] but we are just going to have to be patient out there, stay focused and not let this leaderboard get to us. We have three more rounds and anything can happen.”
Duke Notes:
? Amanda Blumenherst hit 10 fairways, 15 greens and had 36 putts on the day.
? Alison Whitaker's round in the 80s marks on the fourth time this season she has shot that high.
? Jennifer Pandolfi led the field in par three scoring average on day one with a two-under-par, 2.50 average on four par threes.
? Jennie Lee hit 14 greens, 10 fairways and had 35 putts in the round.
? Duke was six-over-par on the front nine and then was 15-over-par on the back nine on Tuesday.
? The weather was very hot with temperatures around 94 degrees, while the wind started to pick up as the day went along. The winds are expected to pick up to 20 mph or more the next three days.
? Southern California has led at the end of the first round five out of the last six years with it winning the NCAA title only in 2003.
? Duke has trailed by at least five strokes in each of the last four years but came back to win the last three NCAA titles in a row.
? Duke has won NCAA titles in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
? The Blue Devils last played in the NCAA Championship in Albuquerque, N.M., was in 1987, which was Head Coach Dan Brooks first NCAA Championship appearance as the head coach at Duke. The Blue Devils went on to finish tied for seventh, which was tied for the best finish Duke had posted in NCAA play.
- d - u - k - e -
rank team scores
1 Southern California 284 284 -4
T2 UCLA 289 289 +1
T2 Auburn 289 289 +1
4 Arizona State 290 290 +2
T5 Denver, Univ. of 293 293 +5
T5 Wake Forest 293 293 +5
7 Oklahoma State 294 294 +6
8 Texas A&M University 295 295 +7
T9 Virginia 296 296 +8
T9 Alabama, U. of 296 296 +8
T11 Georgia 297 297 +9
T11 Tulsa 297 297 +9
T13 TCU 298 298 +10
T13 Texas 298 298 +10
T13 UC Davis 298 298 +10
T13 Arkansas, U. of 298 298 +10
T13 Purdue 298 298 +10
18 Duke 299 299 +11
19 Louisiana State 300 300 +12
20 Florida, U of 301 301 +13
21 South Carolina 306 306 +18
22 Arizona 307 307 +19
23 Furman University 312 312 +24
24 UNLV 314 314 +26
Start Finish Player Team Scores
- 1 Nannette Hill Wake Forest 67 -5
- T2 Alexandra Phelps * New Mexico 69 -3
- T2 Sydnee Michaels UCLA 69 -3
- T2 Belen Mozo Southern California 69 -3
- T2 Candace Schepperle Auburn 69 -3
- T2 Azahara Munoz Arizona State 69 -3
- T7 Lene Krog Virginia 70 -2
- T7 Paola Moreno Southern California 70 -2
- T9 Ashley Freeman Texas A&M University 71 -1
- T9 Jennie Arseneault Virginia 71 -1
- T9 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 71 -1
- T9 Garrett Phillips Georgia 71 -1
- T9 Stephanie Sherlock Denver, Univ. of 71 -1
- T9 Margaret Shirley Auburn 71 -1
- T15 Caroline Westrup * Florida State Univ. 72 E
- T15 Woori Shin Tulsa 72 E
- T15 Sarah Zwartynski Texas A&M University 72 E
- T15 Chelsea Stelzmiller UC Davis 72 E
- T15 Stefanie Endstrasser Southern California 72 E
- T15 Chelsea Benton Denver, Univ. of 72 E
- T15 Prisela Campbell TCU 72 E
- T15 Maude-Aimee Leblanc Purdue 72 E
- T23 Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State 73 +1
- T23 Tammy Clelland Oklahoma State 73 +1
- T23 Ashley Rollins Texas 73 +1
- T23 Amanda Johnson Oklahoma State 73 +1
- T23 Danielle McVeigh Texas A&M University 73 +1
- T23 Michaela Cavener Tulsa 73 +1
- T23 Alice Kim UC Davis 73 +1
- T23 Kathleen Ekey Alabama, U. of 73 +1
- T23 Kristin Ingram Arkansas, U. of 73 +1
- T23 Megan McChrystal Louisiana State 73 +1
- T23 Stacy Lewis Arkansas, U. of 73 +1
- T23 Glory Yang UCLA 73 +1
- T23 Lizette Salas Southern California 73 +1
- T23 Hannah Yun Florida, U of 73 +1
- T23 Katie Kempter Denver, Univ. of 73 +1
- T23 Dewi Claire Schreefel Southern California 73 +1
- T23 Maria Jose Uribe UCLA 73 +1
- T23 Juliana Murcia Arizona State 73 +1
- T23 Jennifer Osborn Arizona State 73 +1
- T23 Christel Boeljon Purdue 73 +1
- T23 Jennifer Pandolfi Duke 73 +1
- T44 Kristin Walla Texas 74 +2
- T44 Natalie Sheary Wake Forest 74 +2
- T44 Amalie Valle Louisiana State 74 +2
- T44 Helena Blomberg Alabama, U. of 74 +2
- T44 Tiffany Joh UCLA 74 +2
- T44 Jennie Lee Duke 74 +2
- T44 Melissa Loh TCU 74 +2
- T44 Cydney Clanton Auburn 74 +2
- T44 Maria Hernandez Purdue 74 +2
- T53 Angela King * Stanford 75 +3
- T53 Sara-Maude Juneau * Louisville, Univ. of 75 +3
- T53 Allie Bodemann Wake Forest 75 +3
- T53 Jaclyn Sweeney Oklahoma State 75 +3
- T53 Shannon Fish Texas 75 +3
- T53 Bly Worley South Carolina 75 +3
- T53 Innapha Tantanavivat Georgia 75 +3
- T53 Mallory Hetzel Georgia 75 +3
- T53 Maiya Tanaka UCLA 75 +3
- T53 Jessica Yadloczky Florida, U of 75 +3
- T53 Therese Koelbaek UNLV 75 +3
- T53 Sarah Thead Auburn 75 +3
- T53 Carrie Morris TCU 75 +3
- T53 Anna Nordqvist Arizona State 75 +3
- T53 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 75 +3
- T68 Lauren Doughtie * North Carolina St. 76 +4
- T68 Kelly Fuchik Tulsa 76 +4
- T68 Caney Hines Texas 76 +4
- T68 Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State 76 +4
- T68 Leisl Hasbrouck Tulsa 76 +4
- T68 Katie Sisler UC Davis 76 +4
- T68 Kelli Shean Arkansas, U. of 76 +4
- T68 Rebecca Kuhn Louisiana State 76 +4
- T68 Lucy Nunn Arkansas, U. of 76 +4
- T68 Benedicte Toumpsin South Carolina 76 +4
- T68 Stefanie Kenoyer Furman University 76 +4
- T68 Krystle Caithness Georgia 76 +4
- T68 Tiffany Chudy Florida, U of 76 +4
- T68 Liisa Kelo Arizona State 76 +4
- T68 Mariana Macias Auburn 76 +4
- T68 Amanda Wilson Arizona 76 +4
- T68 Alison Walshe Arizona 76 +4
- T85 Laura Crawford Wake Forest 77 +5
- T85 Whitney Neuhauser Virginia 77 +5
- T85 Alexis Rather Louisiana State 77 +5
- T85 Whitney Simons South Carolina 77 +5
- T85 Sydney Roughton UC Davis 77 +5
- T85 Jackie Hilea Furman University 77 +5
- T85 Ellie Givens Denver, Univ. of 77 +5
- T85 Carolina Andrade Georgia 77 +5
- T85 Ornella Jouven Florida, U of 77 +5
- T85 Kimberly Donovan Duke 77 +5
- T85 Alejandra Llaneza Arizona 77 +5
- T85 Valentine Derrey TCU 77 +5
- T97 Calle Nielson Virginia 78 +6
- T97 Julia Best Texas 78 +6
- T97 Courtney Harter Alabama, U. of 78 +6
- T97 Camila Mori South Carolina 78 +6
- T97 Bryana Gregory UC Davis 78 +6
- T97 Dawn Shockley Denver, Univ. of 78 +6
- T97 Alejandra Guacaneme UNLV 78 +6
- T97 Allyson Ferguson TCU 78 +6
- T97 Mary Jacobs Arizona 78 +6
- T106 Lauren Johnson Texas A&M University 79 +7
- T106 Jean Chua Wake Forest 79 +7
- T106 Joy Kim Virginia 79 +7
- T106 Blair Lamb Furman University 79 +7
- T106 Junthima Gulyanamitta Purdue 79 +7
- T111 Tara Goedeken Tulsa 80 +8
- T111 Alex Schulte Arkansas, U. of 80 +8
- T111 Sarah Sturm Alabama, U. of 80 +8
- T111 Ashley Baker Furman University 80 +8
- T111 Corrine Carr Furman University 80 +8
- T111 Natasha Krishna UNLV 80 +8
- T111 Stephanie Oukeo Purdue 80 +8
- T118 Erica Moston * San Jose State Univ 81 +9
- T118 Caroline Martens Louisiana State 81 +9
- T118 Tonya Choate UNLV 81 +9
- T118 Emily Mason Arizona 81 +9
- T122 Nicole Schachner Florida, U of 82 +10
- T122 Alison Whitaker Duke 82 +10
- 124 Kasi Lee UNLV 83 +11
- 125 Taylor Barrett South Carolina 84 +12
- 126 Miranda Orr Texas A&M University 85 +13
Players Mentioned
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