Blue Devils Move Up Four Spots At Tar Heel Invite

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 13th-ranked Duke women's golf team moved up four spots to tied for seventh on Saturday at the Tar Heel Invitational as the Blue Devils fired 10 shots better than the day before carding a one-over-par, 289, at the 6,285-yard, Par 72 Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Blue Devils enter Sunday's final round nine strokes out of second place and 20 strokes off leader Michigan State, who carded its second straight under par round on Saturday. Duke has posted rounds of 299 and 289 for a total 588, which is 12-over-par. The Spartans sit at eight-under-par, 568, with 18 holes remaining. Alabama (579), Auburn (582), Vanderbilt (582), Wake Forest (584), Virginia (584), Duke (588), Tennessee (588), Louisville (589), South Carolina (591), Florida State (591) and Texas A&M (591) round out the top 12 teams.

"I am happy with today, but we could have really been quite a bit lower," said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. "We had some good ball-striking today and the putts didn't fall. Obviously, we shot one-over -- that's not a bad round at all. We just needed to make up a little more as Michigan State is taking care of business here and that deficit is large."

Duke had a very solid round on Saturday, but it could have been very low if it wasn't for holes No. 4 and No. 5, which were its 13th and 14th holes of the day after starting the day on No. 10. The Blue Devils carded three bogeys on No. 4, two bogeys on No. 5 and two double-bogeys on No. 5 on the afternoon.

Coming off posting a career-best two-under-par, 70, on Friday, freshman Courtney Ellenbogen rolled in a team-high four birdies on day two on her way to carding a 73. A product of Blacksburg, Va., Ellenbogen is now tied for sixth overall and five shots off leader, Sara-Maude Juneau of Louisville.

Ellenbogen played the first nine at even par and then had an up-and-down final nine holes, which saw her score move to three-over-par after going bogey, double-bogey on No. 4 and No. 5. The rookie settled down and reeled off two consecutive birdies on the final two holes to close the day at one-over-par. Ellenbogen sank a key 19-foot putt on her final hole on her way to finishing with 32 putts, 14 greens hit and 11 fairways hit.

Freshman Lindy Duncan totaled Duke's lone under-par round of the day as she notched a 71 and is now tied for 18th overall with a 146. A product of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Duncan was solid all day with three birdies, 14 pars and one double-bogey on No. 5 as she hit her approach shot into the hazard. She had a team-best 29 putts, while hitting 14 greens and 11 fairways on the day.

Collecting an even-par, 72, on Saturday, senior Allison Whitaker kicked off the day with 11 consecutive pars before registering a birdie on the 493-yard, par five third hole. On the challenging 183-yard, par three fifth, Whitaker hit her approach into the sand trap and couldn't get the sand save for her only bogey of the day. She finished the day with four straight pars and narrowly missed a birdie on her final hole. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, is tied for 49th overall as she notched 7-of-8 up-and-downs on the day. For her round, she hit 12 greens, nine fairways and had 30 putts.

A day after shooting an 81, freshman Stacey Kim notched an one-over-par, 73, for the Blue Devils. Kim kicked off her round with a birdie on No. 10 and then made the turn at even par with two birdies, two bogeys and five pars. A standout from Columbus, Ga., Kim moved her score to one-under-par for the day following a birdie on No. 3, but suffered back-to-back bogeys on the next two holes. She closed with four pars in her round that featured a team-best 15 greens hit, nine fairways hit and 34 putts.

Kim Donovan, a junior from Hopkinton, Mass., posted a 74 on Saturday and is tied for 49th with a 150. She struggled at the start as she bogied her first and third holes, but settled down to notch seven straight pars before collecting a birdie on the second hole. Donovan had six pars and one bogey to close out the day at two-over-par. She hit 13 greens and fairways, while notching 33 putts.

As a team, Duke tallied 12 birdies on the day, which featured four on the front nine and eight on the back nine.

"We are going to have to have some kind of exceptional day tomorrow and Michigan State is going to have pretty bad day tomorrow for us to pull this thing off," said Brooks. "We certainly don't rule that out and we are still talking and thinking about winning, but a lot of things have to go our way tomorrow for that to happen. I wish we could have made up a little more of the deficit today -- I wish we were sitting at 10 back and not 20 back right now."

The Blue Devils will tee off on Sunday in the final round beginning at 9:15 a.m., in a shotgun start off holes seven, eight and nine.

Duke Results

T2 T6 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 70 73 143 -1
T37 T18 Lindy Duncan Duke 75 71 146 +2
T64 T49 Alison Whitaker Duke 78 72 150 +6
T42 T49 Kim Donovan Duke 76 74 150 +6
T83 T73 Stacey Kim Duke 81 73 154 +10

-d-u-k-e-

1 2 Team Scores
1 1 Michigan State 285 283 568 -8
2 2 Alabama, U. of 290 289 579 +3
T8 T3 Auburn 296 286 582 +6
10 T3 Vanderbilt 298 284 582 +6
5 T5 Wake Forest 293 291 584 +8
4 T5 Virginia 292 292 584 +8
11 T7 Duke 299 289 588 +12
3 T7 Tennessee 291 297 588 +12
T14 9 Louisville, Univ. of 304 285 589 +13
7 T10 South Carolina 295 296 591 +15
6 T10 Florida State Univ. 294 297 591 +15
T14 T10 Texas A&M 304 287 591 +15
T8 13 North Carolina 296 296 592 +16
12 14 North Carolina St. 301 293 594 +18
16 15 Kent State 306 293 599 +23
17 16 N. Car. Wilmington 310 291 601 +25
13 17 Denver, Univ. of 302 300 602 +26
18 18 East Carolina Univ. 316 311 627 +51

Start Finish Player Team Scores
T2 1 Sara-Maude Juneau Louisville, Univ. of 70 68 138 -6
T5 2 Marina Alex Vanderbilt 71 68 139 -5
1 3 Laura Kueny Michigan State 69 72 141 -3
T22 T4 Aimee Neff Michigan State 73 69 142 -2
T22 T4 Anna Leigh Keith Vanderbilt 73 69 142 -2
T22 T6 Cydney Clanton Auburn 73 70 143 -1
T5 T6 Candace Schepperle Auburn 71 72 143 -1
T31 T6 Diana Cantu Tennessee 74 69 143 -1
T13 T6 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 72 71 143 -1
T5 T6 Rhea Nair Alabama, U. of 71 72 143 -1
T2 T6 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 70 73 143 -1
T13 T12 Cheyenne Woods Wake Forest 72 72 144 E
T5 T12 Natalie Sheary Wake Forest 71 73 144 E
T2 T12 Hannah Thomson Florida State Univ. 70 74 144 E
T13 T12 Sarah Beth Davis Texas A&M 72 72 144 E
T13 T16 Shannon Warner Michigan State 72 73 145 +1
T42 T16 Meghan Chapman North Carolina St. 76 69 145 +1
T42 T18 Carlie Yadloczky Auburn 76 70 146 +2
T13 T18 Catherine O'Donnell North Carolina 72 74 146 +2
T13 T18 Benedicte Toumpsin South Carolina 72 74 146 +2
T42 T18 Brittany Altomare Virginia 76 70 146 +2
T5 T18 Macarena Silva Florida State Univ. 71 75 146 +2
T31 T18 Brooke Pancake Alabama, U. of 74 72 146 +2
T13 T18 Ginny Brown Tennessee 72 74 146 +2
T37 T18 Lindy Duncan Duke 75 71 146 +2
T31 T26 Amanda Strang South Carolina 74 73 147 +3
T42 T26 Nicole Agnello Virginia 76 71 147 +3
T42 T26 Ashley Freeman Texas A&M 76 71 147 +3
T22 T26 Jennifer Kirby Alabama, U. of 73 74 147 +3
T5 T26 Lindsey Solberg Michigan State 71 76 147 +3
T13 T26 Emily Street North Carolina St. 72 75 147 +3
T22 T32 Kate Thomas North Carolina 73 75 148 +4
T22 T32 Meredith Swanson South Carolina 73 75 148 +4
T37 T32 Michelle Shin Wake Forest 75 73 148 +4
T22 T32 Whitney Neuhauser Virginia 73 75 148 +4
T37 T32 Dolores White Wake Forest 75 73 148 +4
T42 T32 Laura Anderson Louisville, Univ. of 76 72 148 +4
T13 T32 Lauren Greenlief Virginia 72 76 148 +4
T42 T32 Julia Boland Texas A&M 76 72 148 +4
T74 T32 Caroline Powers Michigan State 79 69 148 +4
T59 T41 Sarah Bradley Kent State 77 72 149 +5
T64 T41 Sofia Hagsund N. Car. Wilmington 78 71 149 +5
T37 T41 Ashley Tait N. Car. Wilmington 75 74 149 +5
T42 T41 Stephanie Sherlock Denver, Univ. of 76 73 149 +5
T22 T41 Kimberly Kim Denver, Univ. of 73 76 149 +5
T42 T41 Brooke Baker North Carolina St. 76 73 149 +5
T42 T41 Brooke Goodwin Vanderbilt 76 73 149 +5
T5 T41 Erica Popson Tennessee 71 78 149 +5
T42 T49 Patty Sanz Auburn 76 74 150 +6
T42 T49 Haley Wilson Auburn 76 74 150 +6
T64 T49 Alison Whitaker Duke 78 72 150 +6
T31 T49 Nathalie Mansson Tennessee 74 76 150 +6
T42 T49 Kim Donovan Duke 76 74 150 +6
T64 T54 Jordan Allyne North Carolina 78 73 151 +7
T42 T54 Katie Burnett South Carolina 76 75 151 +7
T64 T54 Shamira Marshall Kent State 78 73 151 +7
T59 T54 Martina Gavier Kent State 77 74 151 +7
T31 T54 Mercedes Germino Kent State 74 77 151 +7
T64 T54 Ellie Givens Denver, Univ. of 78 73 151 +7
T74 T54 Lacey Agnew Florida State Univ. 79 72 151 +7
T64 T54 Anna-Karin Ljungstrom Louisville, Univ. of 78 73 151 +7
T37 T54 Jessica Negron Florida State Univ. 75 76 151 +7
T64 T63 Corrine Carr South Carolina 78 74 152 +8
T90 T63 Carmen Perez-Narbon N. Car. Wilmington 82 70 152 +8
T64 T63 Sarah Thead North Carolina 78 74 152 +8
T22 T63 Courtney Gunter North Carolina 73 79 152 +8
T42 T63 Cristina Manrique N. Car. Wilmington 76 76 152 +8
T80 T63 Daphne Parker Louisville, Univ. of 80 72 152 +8
T80 T63 Sarah Zwartynski Texas A&M 80 72 152 +8
T5 T63 Calle Nielson Virginia 71 81 152 +8
T42 T63 Courtney Harter Alabama, U. of 76 76 152 +8
T64 T63 Megan Grehan Vanderbilt 78 74 152 +8
T42 T73 Sue Kim Denver, Univ. of 76 78 154 +10
T83 T73 Stacey Kim Duke 81 73 154 +10
T80 T75 Amber Littman East Carolina Univ. 80 75 155 +11
T59 T75 Allie Bodemann Wake Forest 77 78 155 +11
T59 T75 Sarah Faller Denver, Univ. of 77 78 155 +11
T64 T75 Mary Beth Ramsay Florida State Univ. 78 77 155 +11
T74 T75 Julie Saleeby North Carolina St. 79 76 155 +11
T59 T75 Kathleen Strandberg North Carolina St. 77 78 155 +11
T74 T81 Joanna Saleeby * North Carolina St. 79 77 156 +12
T31 T81 Abby Bools East Carolina Univ. 74 82 156 +12
T83 T81 Lauren Stratton Vanderbilt 81 75 156 +12
92 T84 Mandi Morrow Kent State 83 74 157 +13
T83 T84 Chloe Garner Texas A&M 81 76 157 +13
T74 T86 Margaret Pentrack * North Carolina 79 79 158 +14
T74 T86 Sara Monberg Tennessee 79 79 158 +14
T83 88 Ana Maria Puche East Carolina Univ. 81 78 159 +15
T90 T89 Michelle Ahn * North Carolina 82 78 160 +16
T83 T89 Candice Wiley Louisville, Univ. of 81 79 160 +16
93 91 Colleen Estes East Carolina Univ. 86 76 162 +18
T83 T92 Meghan Moore East Carolina Univ. 81 83 164 +20
T83 T92 Alei Mitchell N. Car. Wilmington 81 83 164 +20