Blumenherst Claims 12th Career Victory; Duke Finishes Second

GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? Duke University senior Amanda Blumenherst matched a school record on Tuesday as she registered her 12th career individual victory at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational. The reigning three-time National Player of the Year carded a 54-hole total of 222 to win by two strokes at the 5,954-yard, par 70 Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst equaled Mary Anne Widman's Duke record of 12 wins from 1981-84. Blumenherst entered the final round one stroke off the lead and fought off tough conditions to turn in a 77 on Tuesday to claim the title over Molly Aronsson of Washington and Charlotte Lorentzen of Georgia State (224).

“It was probably one of the windiest conditions I've ever played in,” said Blumenherst. “It was absurd, it was so windy.”

On a day when she didn't collect any birdies, Blumenherst played the front nine at three-over-par, 38, and then closed with a four-over-par, 39. She notched 13 pars, two double-bogeys and three bogeys, while hitting nine greens, 11 fairways and tapping in 31 putts.

“It feels great,” said Blumenherst on the victory. “The scores aren't super well just because of how difficult the weather had been the last two days. It was really cold today as well and I was getting a little frustrated with my game. But being senior year, it was nice being able to bring home a victory, but also continuing to improve, and turning my game around a little bit. I'm just going to go back and work on it some more at home and get ready for ACC's and NCAAs.”

Blumenherst totaled 12 wins over her first 30 collegiate tournaments, but the victory on Tuesday at the SunTrust Lady Gator was her first of the 2008-09 campaign. Over her career, Blumenherst now owns 29 top five finishes.

“I am really excited that she was able to get the win,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “It has been tough because she has had a lot of wins and then had a dry spell. She has worked hard to try to get that back and was able to do it and get that victory. It has to be wonderful to be feeling that again. She is home sweet home when she is winning.”

As a team, Duke finished in a tie for first place with Auburn with a 54-hole total of 913. The Blue Devils then lost in a playoff to the Tigers for the team title. Duke closed with a final round of 310 after posting a 298 and 305 the first two rounds. Rounding out the top 10 were Georgia State (914), Alabama (918), Florida (927), Washington (932), Northwestern (934), Coastal Carolina (937), Florida International (941) and Furman (942). The second place finish was the highest placement for the Blue Devils in 2008-09, but Duke is still looking for its first victory of the season.

“It is hard to get that close to a win and then not come out winning, so that is tough,” said Brooks. “Nobody is going to enjoy that. I applaud the team for hanging tough in the difficult conditions. It is really hard to gauge how good the golf was because it was by far the highest score to win a tournament that I can recall. Where I think we need to get better is in our short games. We have made improvements and we've obviously improved to the point where we can be tied for the lead at the end of a tournament. If we can get the short games going, I don't think we will be tied. We will be winning.”

Junior Alison Whitaker also turned in her best finish of the season as she placed tied for fourth with a three-day total of 226. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, turned in a final round of 78, following 18-hole totals of 74 in the first two rounds. Her previous best finish of the year was tied for 16th at the Match Play Qualifying in the fall, which was 36 holes.

After struggling with two rounds in the 80s during the first two days, sophomore Kim Donovan secured a 76 on Tuesday to help Duke tie for first. Donovan, a product of Hopkinton, Mass., finished with a 54-hole total of 242, which was tied for 57th. She led Duke with three birdies in the final round but those 18 holes were eventful with three birdies, seven pars, seven bogies and one double-bogey.

Coming into the tournament, senior Jennie Lee had registered a 72.17 stroke average over the last two tournaments, but she couldn't get the putts to drop the last two days as she finished tied for 22nd with a 232. A two-time All-America from Henderson, Nev., Lee finished with a 79 on Tuesday, which marked the first time this season she hasn't counted a full round for the Blue Devils.

Also turning in the best finish of her 2008-09 season was junior Yu Young Lee as she placed tied for 36th with a 236. An Orlando, Fla., product, Lee turned in rounds of 78, 79 and 79 over the three rounds. Her previous best placement was tied for 38th at the Stanford Intercollegiate.

As a team, Duke sank five birdies in the final round and a total of 21 over the 54 holes of play.

“Today particularly was tough because it was cold with the winds blowing hard,” said Brooks. “I believe the winds blew harder today than they did yesterday. Whenever you get strong winds on this golf course, it is going to be tough. It is a Donald Ross Course with relatively small greens that are built up, a lot of rounding, a lot of run off with the ball trying to run off the green. It was challenging golf and really tested your patience.”

Duke will next travel to Greensboro, N.C., for the 2009 ACC Championship at the Sedgefield Country Club from April 17-19. The Blue Devils have won the past 13 consecutive ACC titles, while Blumenherst has won the past three straight ACC Individual crowns.

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1 2 3 Team Scores
1 T1 T1 Duke 298 305 310 913 +73
T5 4 T1 Auburn 306 305 302 913 +73
T7 5 3 Georgia State Univ. 307 305 302 914 +74
2 T1 4 Alabama, U. of 302 301 315 918 +78
T3 3 5 Florida, U of 304 302 321 927 +87
T10 8 6 Washington 309 312 311 932 +92
T3 6 7 Northwestern Univ. 304 311 319 934 +94
T10 12 8 Coastal Carolina 309 319 308 937 +97
T12 11 9 Fla. International 313 311 317 941 +101
T7 T9 10 Furman University 307 316 319 942 +102
15 7 11 Florida State Univ. 320 299 329 948 +108
T7 T9 12 South Florida 307 316 328 951 +111
T5 13 13 Campbell University 306 324 323 953 +113
T12 14 14 Brigham Young Univ. 313 322 325 960 +120
16 16 15 Florida Atlantic U. 324 326 327 977 +137
14 15 16 Georgetown University 314 332 334 980 +140

Start Finish Player Team Scores
3 1 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 70 75 77 222 +12
4 T2 Molly Aronsson Washington 74 72 78 224 +14
T9 T2 Charlotte Lorentzen Georgia State Univ. 76 74 74 224 +14
T5 T4 Alison Whitaker Duke 74 74 78 226 +16
8 T4 Anna Scott Georgia State Univ. 73 76 77 226 +16
T14 T4 Cydney Clanton Auburn 77 75 74 226 +16
T9 T4 Jessica Yadloczky Florida, U of 75 75 76 226 +16
T5 T4 Paula Hurtado Fla. International 73 75 78 226 +16
T14 T9 Candace Schepperle Auburn 73 79 75 227 +17
T1 T9 Kathleen Ekey Alabama, U. of 73 71 83 227 +17
T9 T11 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 78 72 78 228 +18
T5 T11 Andrea Watts Florida, U of 74 74 80 228 +18
T12 T13 Evan Jensen Florida, U of 79 72 79 230 +20
T22 T13 Macarena Silva Florida State Univ. 79 75 76 230 +20
T14 T13 Stefanie Kenoyer Furman University 76 76 78 230 +20
T33 T13 Cathrine Madsen Georgia State Univ. 80 76 74 230 +20
T22 T13 Haley Wilson Auburn 77 77 76 230 +20
T14 T13 Belen Buendia Fla. International 74 78 78 230 +20
T22 T19 Lauren Uzelatz * Florida, U of 73 81 77 231 +21
T31 T19 Helena Blomberg * Alabama, U. of 77 78 76 231 +21
T22 T19 Patricia Sanz Auburn 79 75 77 231 +21
T14 T22 Brooke Pancake Alabama, U. of 73 79 80 232 +22
T22 T22 Rebecca Lederhausen Northwestern Univ. 80 74 78 232 +22
T19 T22 Jennie Lee Duke 76 77 79 232 +22
T22 T22 Carly Hunt Georgetown University 75 79 78 232 +22
T22 T22 Aruka Felgueroso Coastal Carolina 78 76 78 232 +22
T12 T27 Gennifer Mendez South Florida 73 78 82 233 +23
T19 T27 Alex Lederhausen Northwestern Univ. 75 78 80 233 +23
T1 T29 Whitney Wenglasz Florida State Univ. 74 70 90 234 +24
T48 T29 Belen Diaz Cisneros Campbell University 74 84 76 234 +24
T33 T29 Christina Marin Fla. International 78 78 78 234 +24
T33 T32 Maggie Yuan Brigham Young Univ. 77 79 79 235 +25
T40 T32 Claire Starkie * Georgia State Univ. 73 84 78 235 +25
T48 T32 Christina Yoon Washington 82 76 77 235 +25
T40 T32 Ana Lopez South Florida 79 78 78 235 +25
T40 T36 Yu Young Lee Duke 78 79 79 236 +26
T22 T36 Jackie Hilea Furman University 73 81 82 236 +26
T19 T36 Kylie Fuller Northwestern Univ. 73 80 83 236 +26
T31 T36 Innapha Tantanavivat Northwestern Univ. 76 79 81 236 +26
T54 40 Elisabetta Bertini Florida Atlantic U. 81 79 77 237 +27
T33 T41 Jessica Vincent Coastal Carolina 74 82 82 238 +28
T56 T41 Iliska Verwey Georgia State Univ. 79 82 77 238 +28
T62 T41 Carmen Jones Coastal Carolina 81 81 76 238 +28
T33 T41 Chelsea Curtis Georgetown University 76 80 82 238 +28
T33 T41 Madison Overbey * Auburn 78 78 82 238 +28
T33 T46 Sadena Parks Washington 78 78 83 239 +29
T56 T46 Rhea Nair Alabama, U. of 82 79 78 239 +29
T40 T46 Blair Lamb Furman University 78 79 82 239 +29
T52 T46 Natalia Jimenez Brigham Young Univ. 75 84 80 239 +29
T48 T46 Sandra Maier Georgia State Univ. 79 79 81 239 +29
T56 T46 Michelle Koh Campbell University 80 81 78 239 +29
T56 T46 Brie Heinzler Furman University 81 80 78 239 +29
T40 T53 Lacey Agnew Florida State Univ. 84 73 83 240 +30
T74 T53 Ann Maness Coastal Carolina 80 87 72 240 +30
T54 T55 Praewnapa Phol-Uayporn Florida Atlantic U. 80 80 81 241 +31
T22 T55 Sandy Angulo Campbell University 76 78 87 241 +31
73 T57 Kimberly Donovan Duke 85 81 76 242 +32
T40 T57 Alicia Grier Coastal Carolina 77 80 85 242 +32
T62 T57 Jennifer Hong Northwestern Univ. 81 81 80 242 +32
T40 T57 Mary Mattson Campbell University 76 81 85 242 +32
T40 T61 Nicole Schachner Florida, U of 76 81 86 243 +33
79 T61 Anya Alvarez Washington 82 88 73 243 +33
T62 T63 Kimberly D'Andrea Florida Atlantic U. 79 83 82 244 +34
T69 T63 Liz Wendt Furman University 80 83 81 244 +34
72 T63 Courtney Harter Alabama, U. of 78 87 79 244 +34
T62 T66 Shayla Forsey Brigham Young Univ. 78 84 83 245 +35
T56 T66 Karinn Dickinson Washington 75 86 84 245 +35
T62 T66 Jessica Schnebly South Florida 76 86 83 245 +35
T52 T66 Sarah Thead Auburn 81 78 86 245 +35
T56 T70 Emily Van Etten South Florida 79 82 85 246 +36
T69 T70 Sara Romero Brigham Young Univ. 83 80 83 246 +36
T62 T70 Jade Bollinger Brigham Young Univ. 83 79 84 246 +36
T48 T70 Rachel Edwards South Florida 80 78 88 246 +36
T62 74 Joan Dulieu Georgetown University 81 81 85 247 +37
71 75 Lauren Cousart Florida State Univ. 83 81 84 248 +38
T74 T76 Sarah Bejgrowicz Campbell University 83 84 84 251 +41
77 T76 Monica Miller Fla. International 88 80 83 251 +41
T74 78 Marika Lendl Florida, U of 81 86 87 254 +44
78 79 Karine Bolme Florida Atlantic U. 84 85 87 256 +46
81 80 Lauren Blease Fla. International 88 89 85 262 +52
80 81 Eunae Jo Georgetown University 82 93 89 264 +54
82 T82 Brooke McBoyle Florida Atlantic U. 94 84 87 265 +55
T83 T82 Jamie Kuhn Florida State Univ. 86 93 86 265 +55
T83 84 Robyn English Georgetown University 87 92 90 269 +59