Blue Devils Conclude Second Round Of The NCAA Championship

OWINGS MILLS, Md. ? The Duke women's golf team shot seven strokes better than day one and moved up two spots to 12th overall at the 2009 NCAA Championship on Wednesday, which is being played at the 6,443-yard, Par 72 Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. The Blue Devils carded a 13-over-par, 301, on day two and owns a 36-hole total of 609, which is 20 strokes off the lead.

When Duke teed off No. 10 at 1:20 p.m., on Wednesday, the Blue Devils sat tied for fifth overall. Duke moved as high as fifth but lost ground for the second straight day towards the end of the round. Of the four counting scorers, the foursome made nine bogeys over the final nine holes, while registering zero birdies.

“Today felt really good,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “I just get a good feeling from the team. There was some really good, quality shots that went on today. I wish we would have made up more ground but you cannot feel bad about the effort. We are not playing an easy golf course here. This is a challenging place.”

UCLA, which was paced by sophomore Maria Jose Uribe's six-under-par, 66, on Wednesday, owns the lead with a 13-over-par, 589. Southern California (596), Denver (598), Arizona State (600), Oklahoma State (600), North Carolina (600), Wake Forest (603), LSU (606), Virginia (607) and Alabama (607) rounded out the top 10. Purdue (607) is 11th and Duke is 12th with a 609, which is 33-over-par.

“If you look at it this way, if we make the same kind of gain tomorrow and the next day -- then we move right up there near the top,” said Brooks. “We are going to have to keep taking chunks out of it.”

Uribe now owns a three-under-par, 141, to lead the individual action, while Nannette Hill of Wake Forest, Lisa McCloskey of Pepperdine and Stephanie Sherlock of Denver are tied for second with a 143.

Continuing to pace the Blue Devils is senior Amanda Blumenherst, who carded a one-over-par, 73, on Wednesday and is tied for 14th with a 148, which is tied for 14th. She kicked off her round on fire hitting her first four greens but couldn't get any of her birdie putts to drop. On the short 330-yard, par four 14th, she hit her tee shot into a side bunker and had to blast out of it into the fairway. Blumenherst made a great up-and-down from where she was at to remain at even par. On the next hole, which is a very challenging 180-yard, par three, she hit a four-iron to 20-feet and rolled in her first birdie of the day to move to one-under-par. She remained at one-under following an incredible up-and-down on the 16th hole, which she closed off with a 15-foot par putt.

“I was consistent for most of the round,” said Blumenherst. “In the beginning, I was in the fairway, on the green and then two-putt. My shots got a little erratic on the backside. I was having to either punch-out or be creative on getting a par. I actually did it almost every single time and I was close on the one bogey. I wasn't hitting the ball quite the way I liked, but my short game pulled through for me.”

A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst made the turn with an even-par, 36, after not being able to get up-and-down from in front of the green on No. 18. On the final nine, she made eight pars and after an errant tee shot made a bogey on the 368-yard, par four fifth hole. For the day, Blumenherst hit nine fairways, 13 greens and had 32 putts.

“I really felt it on the front side,” commented Blumenherst. “Once I got some putts going in even to save par, I got a little momentum. I was hitting some close shots, recovering well -- I feel like I am just there. There is a little wall or something that I just have to get over. I feel like after that I could shoot a really low round. It could have happened today.”

Junior Alison Whitaker had a slow start to her round as she hit her opening tee shot left into the trees and ended up with a bogey. She came back with a par on the 11th but suffered another bogey on the 149-yard, par three 12th hole. It marked the second straight day she has suffered a bogey on the 12th hole. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, played the final six holes of the front nine at one-under-par as she notched birdies on No. 14 and No. 18.

On the final nine holes, Whitaker totaled seven pars to go along with bogeys on No. 5 and No. 7. She hit 12 greens, seven fairways and had 31 putts on the day. She also had 3-of-5 up-and-downs. Whitaker is tied for 28th with a 151 through two days.

After turning in a six-over-par, 78, on day one, senior Jennie Lee posted a 75 on Wednesday. She is tied for 48th with a 153 in the individual action. Lee, who is from Henderson, Nev., opened with a bogey on No. 10 but came back to notch three straight pars followed by a draining a 12-footer for birdie on No. 14. Lee could not get up-and-down on No. 15 and made a bogey, but responded by rolling in a 22-foot birdie putt on the 16th to move back to even par.

She made the turn at even par but started the final nine holes with back-to-back bogeys on No. 1 and No. 2. Lee then reeled off six consecutive pars before closing with a bogey on No. 9 to close out the day. She hit 12 fairways, 12 greens and logged 32 putts in Wednesday's round.

For the second straight day, sophomore Kim Donovan opened with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. On Wednesday, she rolled in a 30-footer and a 12-footer to move to two-under-par. Donovan, a native of Hopkinton, Mass., then collected a par on No. 12 but suffered a double-bogey on the 531-yard, par five 13th. She then suffered bogeys on No. 15, No. 16 and No. 18 to make the turn at three-over-par, 39.

On the back nine, she totaled six pars and three bogeys to finish with a six-over-par, 78. Donovan hit 11 fairways, 12 greens and had 35 putts on the afternoon.

Junior Yu Young Lee carded an 81 on Wednesday and is now in 113th place with a 164. On day two, Lee hit a team-best 13 fairways, 10 greens and had 36 putts. Her lone birdie of the day came on the 496-yard, par five seventh hole as she rolled in a six-foot birdie putt. Lee, who is from Orlando, Fla., was the only Blue Devil to register a birdie on No. 7 in the second round.

After totaling six birdies on the first day, the Blue Devils carded eight birdies in round two. Duke will tee off No. 10 beginning at 12:00 p.m., on Thursday along with Alabama and Purdue.

“On greens like this, you just need to keep believing that they are going to fall,” commented Brooks on the birdie putts not falling in. “The important thing is to not get frustrated when they are sitting on the lip or when they almost go in. You have to realize that every good round could have been a lot better -- every great round could have even been better. A great round includes being close a lot. That is a very important part of the psychology on a course like this -- where the greens are rolling true and fast. You are going to have a lot of stuff, but they are just not quite going to drop. Once you make one or two at the right time you start to realize they will go in. That is when things will happen.”

For those fans looking to see the action and cannot be at the Caves Valley Golf Club in person, you can follow the action on Thursday and Friday with webstreaming live on holes 16-18. From 11-2 and 3:00 until the completion of play, there will be live video of the action. A link can be found on www.GoDuke.com. Livestats is also available at www.GoDuke.com.

Duke Results:

T14 T25 20 Amanda Blumenherst (10)   Duke +4 F +1 75 73 148
T28 T38    Alison Whitaker (10)   Duke +7 F +3 76 75 151
T48 T60 12 Jennie Lee (10)   Duke +9 F +3 78 75 153
T85 T79    Kimberly Donovan (10)   Duke +13 F +6 79 78 157
113 T112    Yu Young Lee (10)   Duke +20 F +9 83 81 164

Duke Notes:

? Senior Amanda Blumenherst had a remarkable green in regulation on the 185-yard, par three eighth hole as her approach shot hit the wall next to the water and bounced over water onto the green. She went on to par the hole.

? Amanda Blumenherst owns 26 pars over the first two rounds to rank tied for second, individually.

? Over the first two rounds, senior Jennie Lee has hit 24-of-28 fairways. Over her final five rounds of golf, she has hit a total of 59 out of her last 67 fairways in the regionals and championship.

? The NCAA Championship is a four-day event that totals 72 holes with 18 holes played each day.

? Duke has won NCAA Championships in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

-d-u-k-e-

1 2 Team Scores
2 1 UCLA 296 293 589 +13
4 2 Southern California 301 295 596 +20
1 3 Denver, Univ. of 294 304 598 +22
T5 T4 Arizona State 302 298 600 +24
T7 T4 Oklahoma State 303 297 600 +24
3 T4 North Carolina 299 301 600 +24
T7 7 Wake Forest 303 300 603 +27
T5 8 LSU 302 304 606 +30
T9 T9 Virginia 305 302 607 +31
T9 T9 Alabama, U. of 305 302 607 +31
11 T9 Purdue 306 301 607 +31
14 12 Duke 308 301 609 +33
T17 T13 Pepperdine 312 298 610 +34
T12 T13 Michigan State 307 303 610 +34
15 15 Arizona 310 305 615 +39
T17 16 Tulane University 312 305 617 +41
T12 17 Tennessee 307 313 620 +44
T21 T18 UT Chattanooga 316 307 623 +47
T21 T18 Georgia 316 307 623 +47
16 T20 New Mexico 311 314 625 +49
T19 T20 Texas 314 311 625 +49
T19 22 TCU 314 316 630 +54
24 23 Ohio State 323 311 634 +58
23 24 UC Irvine 320 316 636 +60

Start Finish Player Team Scores
T25 1 Maria Jose Uribe UCLA 75 66 141 -3
T3 T2 Nannette Hill Wake Forest 72 71 143 -1
T1 T2 Stephanie Sherlock Denver, Univ. of 70 73 143 -1
T12 T2 Lisa McCloskey Pepperdine 74 69 143 -1
T3 5 Jennifer Song Southern California 72 73 145 +1
T12 T6 Maria Hernandez Purdue 74 72 146 +2
T12 T6 Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State 74 72 146 +2
T3 T6 Stephanie Connelly * UCF 72 74 146 +2
T50 T9 Dawn Shockley Denver, Univ. of 77 70 147 +3
T3 T9 Ginny Brown Tennessee 72 75 147 +3
T25 T9 Sydney Crane North Carolina 75 72 147 +3
T1 T9 Catherine O'Donnell North Carolina 70 77 147 +3
T25 T9 Marta Silva Georgia 75 72 147 +3
T12 T14 Lizette Salas Southern California 74 74 148 +4
T25 T14 Amanda Blumenherst Duke 75 73 148 +4
T60 T16 Azahara Munoz Arizona State 78 71 149 +5
T25 T16 Jennifer Osborn Arizona State 75 74 149 +5
T7 T16 Stephanie Kono UCLA 73 76 149 +5
T12 T16 Alice Kim * UC Davis 74 75 149 +5
T25 T20 Sydnee Michaels UCLA 75 75 150 +6
T12 T20 Tiffany Joh UCLA 74 76 150 +6
T12 T20 Carlota Ciganda Arizona State 74 76 150 +6
T50 T20 Caroline Masson Oklahoma State 77 73 150 +6
T60 T20 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 78 72 150 +6
T60 T20 Belen Mozo Southern California 78 72 150 +6
T12 T20 Laura Kueny Michigan State 74 76 150 +6
T25 T20 Jane Chin UC Irvine 75 75 150 +6
T60 T28 Tessa Teachman LSU 78 73 151 +7
T12 T28 Megan McChrystal LSU 74 77 151 +7
T50 T28 Courtney Harter Alabama, U. of 77 74 151 +7
T25 T28 Calle Nielson Virginia 75 76 151 +7
T50 T28 Rachel Raastad TCU 77 74 151 +7
T25 T28 Whitney Neuhauser Virginia 75 76 151 +7
T38 T28 Janine Fellows Tulane University 76 75 151 +7
T60 T28 Jodi Ewart New Mexico 78 73 151 +7
T38 T28 Alison Whitaker Duke 76 75 151 +7
T60 T37 Caroline Martens LSU 78 74 152 +8
T12 T37 Glory Yang UCLA 74 78 152 +8
T60 T37 Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State 78 74 152 +8
T60 T37 Lene Krog Virginia 78 74 152 +8
T38 T37 Thea Hoffmeister Purdue 76 76 152 +8
T79 T37 Nikki Koller Arizona 79 73 152 +8
T7 T37 Lindsey Solberg Michigan State 73 79 152 +8
T79 T37 Emma de Groot UT Chattanooga 79 73 152 +8
T25 T37 Maria Salinas UT Chattanooga 75 77 152 +8
T7 T37 Britney Choy New Mexico 73 79 152 +8
T38 T37 Cindy LaCrosse * Louisville, Univ. of 76 76 152 +8
T38 T48 Jaclyn Sweeney Arizona State 76 77 153 +9
T7 T48 Ellie Givens Denver, Univ. of 73 80 153 +9
T50 T48 Caroline Kim Southern California 77 76 153 +9
T50 T48 Kristen Simpson Virginia 77 76 153 +9
T38 T48 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc Purdue 76 77 153 +9
T25 T48 Brooke Pancake Alabama, U. of 75 78 153 +9
T25 T48 Kathleen Ekey Alabama, U. of 75 78 153 +9
T91 T48 Aimee Neff Michigan State 80 73 153 +9
T38 T48 Kate Thomas North Carolina 76 77 153 +9
T50 T48 Daniela Holmqvist Tulane University 77 76 153 +9
T60 T48 Vicky Villanueva Ohio State 78 75 153 +9
T38 T48 Amanda Wilson Arizona 76 77 153 +9
T25 T48 Emma Jandel Ohio State 75 78 153 +9
T60 T48 Jennie Lee Duke 78 75 153 +9
T50 T48 Mallory Hetzel Georgia 77 76 153 +9
T79 T48 Taylore Karle Pepperdine 79 74 153 +9
T12 T48 Shannon Fish Texas 74 79 153 +9
T50 T65 Juliana Murcia Arizona State 77 77 154 +10
T60 T65 Cheyenne Woods Wake Forest 78 76 154 +10
T12 T65 Jaqueline Hedwall LSU 74 80 154 +10
T38 T65 Amanda Johnson Oklahoma State 76 78 154 +10
T38 T65 Caroline Hedwall Oklahoma State 76 78 154 +10
T60 T65 Allie White North Carolina 78 76 154 +10
T60 T65 Ashley McKenney Tulane University 78 76 154 +10
T91 T72 Natalie Sheary Wake Forest 80 75 155 +11
T12 T72 Katie Kempter Denver, Univ. of 74 81 155 +11
T7 T72 Allie Bodemann Wake Forest 73 82 155 +11
T91 T72 Michelle Bowles Michigan State 80 75 155 +11
T60 T72 Margarita Ramos Arizona 78 77 155 +11
T50 T72 Isabelle Boineau Arizona 77 78 155 +11
T107 T72 Kendall Dye * Oklahoma 82 73 155 +11
T38 T79 Amalie Valle LSU 76 80 156 +12
T38 T79 Nicole Smith Tennessee 76 80 156 +12
T79 T79 Joy Kim Virginia 79 77 156 +12
T91 T79 Junthima Gulyanamitta Purdue 80 76 156 +12
T91 T79 Nicole Vandermade Texas 80 76 156 +12
T79 T79 Jessica Wallace Pepperdine 79 77 156 +12
T101 T85 Lauren Hunt North Carolina 81 76 157 +13
T79 T85 Kimberly Donovan Duke 79 78 157 +13
T60 T85 Cathryn Bristow * Oregon, U. of 78 79 157 +13
T101 T88 Nathalie Mansson Tennessee 81 77 158 +14
T79 T88 In-Ah Park Southern California 79 79 158 +14
T79 T88 Brooke Beeler TCU 79 79 158 +14
T60 T88 Patty Chawalitmetha UC Irvine 78 80 158 +14
T91 T88 Jayvie Agojo Pepperdine 80 78 158 +14
T101 T88 Kelley Louth Texas 81 77 158 +14
T79 T88 Moa Duf UT Chattanooga 79 79 158 +14
T101 T95 Jean Chua Wake Forest 81 78 159 +15
T60 T95 Diana Cantu Tennessee 78 81 159 +15
T79 T95 Rebecca Hellbom New Mexico 79 80 159 +15
T112 T98 In Hong Lim Ohio State 83 77 160 +16
T91 T98 Kaitlin Drolson Pepperdine 80 80 160 +16
T79 T98 Marina Alex * Vanderbilt 79 81 160 +16
T60 T101 Sarah Faller Denver, Univ. of 78 83 161 +17
T91 T101 Rhea Nair Alabama, U. of 80 81 161 +17
T91 T101 Allyson Ferguson TCU 80 81 161 +17
T60 T101 Valentine Derrey TCU 78 83 161 +17
T107 T101 Kristin Walla Texas 82 79 161 +17
T107 T101 Carolina Andrade Georgia 82 79 161 +17
T112 T107 Alejandra Llaneza Arizona 83 79 162 +18
T118 T107 Samantha Troyanovich Tulane University 84 78 162 +18
T91 T107 Lalita Patipaksiri UC Irvine 80 82 162 +18
T101 T110 Linn Gustafsson Tulane University 81 82 163 +19
120 T110 Christine Wolf UT Chattanooga 85 78 163 +19
T101 T110 Mikaela Backstedt New Mexico 81 82 163 +19
T112 113 Yu Young Lee Duke 83 81 164 +20
T112 T114 Prisela Campbell TCU 83 82 165 +21
T107 T114 Morgan Grantham New Mexico 82 83 165 +21
T112 T114 Maria Juliana Loza UT Chattanooga 83 82 165 +21
T79 T114 Caney Hines Texas 79 86 165 +21
T112 T118 Shannon Warner Michigan State 83 83 166 +22
T121 T118 Joy Trotter UC Irvine 87 79 166 +22
T118 T120 Lauren Spurlock Tennessee 84 83 167 +23
T121 T120 Leigh Crosby Georgia 87 80 167 +23
T121 122 Hillary Packard UC Irvine 87 82 169 +25
T107 123 Tess Fordham Georgia 82 88 170 +26
125 124 Vaishavi Sinha Purdue 88 83 171 +27
126 T125 Jessica Hauser Ohio State 93 81 174 +30
T121 T125 Gemma Webster Ohio State 87 87 174 +30