Blue Devils Open Tied for Third at the NCAA Championship

Tuesday, May 18

Wilmington, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Blue Devils Open Tied for Third at the NCAA Championship

5/18/2010 9:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Led by a late day charge, the fifth-ranked and third-seeded Duke women's golf team concluded the first round of the 2010 NCAA Championship in a tie for third place overall with 54 holes remaining at the 6,368-yard, Par 72 Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. Junior Kim Donovan turned in the best NCAA Championship round of her three-year career as she fired a four-under-par, 68, and is tied for fourth overall.

As a team, Duke opened the championship on hole 10 and were six-over-par through five holes before settling down and playing terrific golf to close out the day. The Blue Devils turned in an even-par, 288, on Tuesday and is six shots behind Southern California (282). Purdue (284) is in second, while the Blue Devils are tied for third along with Arizona State and UCLA. Rounding out the top 10 were Alabama (289), Florida State (289), TCU (292), Auburn (293) and Virginia (294).

"I feel pretty good about it," said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks regarding the first round. "We had been out there [on the course] for over an hour and I said I had seen one par -- the rest were bogeys and doubles. We have a comeback team. We have been in some problems at different tournaments and seem to fight back. We did it today."

The Blue Devil trio of Alison Whitaker, Lindy Duncan and Donovan played their final 10 holes at a combined seven-under-par in the afternoon to help move Duke up the leaderboard. All five Duke golfers registered birdies on the 445-yard, par five 18th as they made the turn.

Continuing to play the best golf of her collegiate career, Donovan turned in a four-under-par, 68, on Tuesday and is only one shot off the individual lead. A product of Hopkinton, Mass., Donovan opened with three straight pars before suffering her only bogey of the day on No. 13. She went on to register birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 to make the turn at one-under-par, 35. Donovan opened the final nine by rolling in a 30-footer for birdie on the first hole and closed with birdies on No. 5 and No. 7. Over a 10-hole stretch from the 16th through the seventh holes, Donovan was five-under-par.

"I was one-over after four [holes] or so -- I three-putted," said Donovan. "I just knew I had to stay patient. Coach [Brooks] has really been emphasizing patience out here, especially since it is a long week. I was able to pull it back. I had two birdies to come in -- so I was one-under and played really well on the back."

Donovan hit all 18 greens on the day, while notching 32 putts and hitting 11 fairways. The four-under-par round matched her season-best 18-hole ledger, which happened at the NCAA East Regional on May 7. Donovan has now posted six rounds of even or under par over her last seven rounds.

Holding the individual lead of the NCAA Championship through 18 holes is the trio of Jennifer Song of Southern California, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Purdue and Jennifer Johnson of Arizona State with a five-under-par, 67. Donovan is tied for fourth along with Cyna Rodriguez of Southern California and Brianna Do of UCLA.

"I am super happy for Kim," said Brooks. "Kim really shined out there today. It was fantastic."

Duncan, who is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., closed strong in her first appearance in the championship with birdies on No. 6 and No. 9 to finish with an even-par, 72. She kicked off her round with a par on the 10th but suffered a double-bogey on the challenging 11th hole before playing her final 16 holes at two-under-par. Duncan's first birdie was tallied on the 18th as she was on the putting surface in two and went on to two-putt for birdie. She also rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the sixth and closed the day by holing a 6-footer on the 387-yard, par four ninth with a Duke crowd roaring after the ball rolled in.

Freshman Courtney Ellenbogen turned in a very solid round for the Blue Devils on Tuesday as she fired three birdies on her way to posting a two-over-par, 74. She enters the second round tied for 49th overall, after registering a tied for team-best 29 putts. Ellenbogen, who is from Blacksburg, Va., made the turn at even par with two bogeys and two birdies on both the par fives -- No. 12 and No. 18. She closed the day with a two-over-par, 38, over her final nine holes. Ellenbogen notched her third birdie of the day on the 370-yard, fifth hole as she hit a 9-iron from 130 yards to within two feet. She hit 11 greens and eight fairways on the afternoon.

"I felt like I struck the ball really well -- missed a few putts but other than that my ball-striking was really good," said Ellenbogen. "There were some opportunities out there because the greens were a little softer than they have been in the past and they were also rolling really true. The course is in great shape and there were some good opportunities to score."

Whitaker battled all day and came away with a two-over-par, 74, to open her fourth NCAA Championship. She started her day at three-over-par through eight holes but came back to play her final 10 holes at one-under-par. Whitaker, who won an NCAA title as a freshman, had 32 putts, hit 12 greens and hit eight fairways on the day.

"I was feeling a little unsettled this morning with my swing," commented Whitaker. "Everything wasn't feeling right on plane and that kind of thing. So considering that, I am pretty happy with the round. It is a course that really plays into some regulation golf. If you hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and just wait for the putts to fall then you will end up with some good scores."

Coming off top 20 finishes in three out of the last four tournaments, freshman Stacey Kim struggled on day one as she totaled a 79. Kim, who is from Columbus, Ga., closed strong with her only birdie of the day on No. 9 as she rolled in a 15-footer. She hit only seven greens on Tuesday, while notching 32 putts and hitting 10 fairways.

Duke will tee off on Wednesday beginning at 8:55 a.m., along with Alabama and New Mexico in round two.

"This is a great course," said Brooks. "It is one of the top courses that we ever play. You need to strike it well and it is going to bite you if you don't."

Notes:

For the day, freshman Lindy Duncan hit 11 greens, 10 fairways and had a tied for team best 29 putts.
The Blue Devils were five-over-par on the 387-yard, par four 11th hole. Kim Donovan was the only Duke golfer to par the hole.
As a team, Duke registered 15 birdies in round one.
Kim Donovan's 3.70 par four scoring was second overall on day one. She was three-under-par on par four holes.
Duke has won NCAA Championships in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007 under Head Coach Dan Brooks.
Duke won the NCAA Fall Preview October as the Blue Devils came back from being down 10 shots on the final day to win by one stroke over Auburn and UCLA.

- d - u - k - e -

Duke Results
- T4 Kim Donovan Duke 68 -4
- T20 Lindy Duncan Duke 72 E
- T49 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 74 +2
- T49 Alison Whitaker Duke 74 +2
- T108 Stacey Kim Duke 79 +7

1 Team Scores
1 Southern California 282 -6
2 Purdue 284 -4
T3 Arizona State 288 E
T3 UCLA 288 E
T3 Duke 288 E
T6 Alabama, U. of 289 +1
T6 Florida State Univ. 289 +1
8 TCU 292 +4
9 Auburn 293 +5
10 Virginia 294 +6
11 Oklahoma State 295 +7
T12 Vanderbilt 296 +8
T12 Arizona 296 +8
T14 Pepperdine 297 +9
T14 Texas A&M 297 +9
T14 Tennessee 297 +9
17 San Jose State Univ 298 +10
18 Texas 299 +11
T19 South Carolina 300 +12
T19 Stanford 300 +12
21 Oregon 302 +14
22 New Mexico 303 +15
23 Kent State 307 +19
24 Tulane University 311 +23

Start Finish Player Team Scores
- T1 Jennifer Song Southern California 67 -5
- T1 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc Purdue 67 -5
- T1 Jennifer Johnson Arizona State 67 -5
- T4 Cyna Rodriguez Southern California 68 -4
- T4 Brianna Do UCLA 68 -4
- T4 Kim Donovan Duke 68 -4
- 7 Jessica Negron Florida State Univ. 69 -3
- T8 Brittany Altomare Virginia 70 -2
- T8 Caroline Hedwall Oklahoma State 70 -2
- T8 Brooke Beeler TCU 70 -2
- T8 Maria Salinas Florida State Univ. 70 -2
- T8 Laura Gonzalez Purdue 70 -2
- T8 Brooke Pancake Alabama, U. of 70 -2
- T14 Anna Leigh Keith Vanderbilt 71 -1
- T14 Cheyenne Hickle Oregon 71 -1
- T14 Rebecca Durham Stanford 71 -1
- T14 Margarita Ramos Arizona 71 -1
- T14 Rhea Nair Alabama, U. of 71 -1
- T14 Glory Yang UCLA 71 -1
- T20 Marta Silva Zamora * Georgia 72 E
- T20 Megan McChrystal * LSU 72 E
- T20 Melissa Loh TCU 72 E
- T20 Sarah Zwartynski Texas A&M 72 E
- T20 Julia Boland Texas A&M 72 E
- T20 Nicole Vandermade Texas 72 E
- T20 Cydney Clanton Auburn 72 E
- T20 Katie Burnett South Carolina 72 E
- T20 Lindy Duncan Duke 72 E
- T20 Erica Popson Tennessee 72 E
- T30 Shraddhanjali Singh San Jose State Univ 73 +1
- T30 Taylore Karle Pepperdine 73 +1
- T30 Ashley Edwards Oregon 73 +1
- T30 Calle Nielson Virginia 73 +1
- T30 Ellen Mueller * Oklahoma 73 +1
- T30 Kimberly Kim * Denver, Univ. of 73 +1
- T30 Sally Watson Stanford 73 +1
- T30 Valentine Derrey TCU 73 +1
- T30 Haley Wilson Auburn 73 +1
- T30 Sherlyn Popelka Arizona 73 +1
- T30 Belen Mozo Southern California 73 +1
- T30 Numa Gulyanamitta Purdue 73 +1
- T30 Candace Schepperle Auburn 73 +1
- T30 Giulia Molinaro Arizona State 73 +1
- T30 Sydnee Michaels UCLA 73 +1
- T30 Nathalie Mansson Tennessee 73 +1
- T30 Juliana Murcia Arizona State 73 +1
- T30 Jodi Ewart New Mexico 73 +1
- T30 Camilla Lennarth Alabama, U. of 73 +1
- T49 Hillary Wood Oklahoma State 74 +2
- T49 Nicole Agnello Virginia 74 +2
- T49 Danielle Kang Pepperdine 74 +2
- T49 Megan Grehan Vanderbilt 74 +2
- T49 Madeleine Ziegert San Jose State Univ 74 +2
- T49 Lisa McCloskey Pepperdine 74 +2
- T49 Cristina Corpus San Jose State Univ 74 +2
- T49 Hannah Thomson Florida State Univ. 74 +2
- T49 Kristina Wong Stanford 74 +2
- T49 Paula Reto Purdue 74 +2
- T49 Haley Stephens Texas 74 +2
- T49 Lizette Salas Southern California 74 +2
- T49 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 74 +2
- T49 Britney Choy New Mexico 74 +2
- T49 Alison Whitaker Duke 74 +2
- T64 Victoria Park Oklahoma State 75 +3
- T64 Marina Alex Vanderbilt 75 +3
- T64 Shamira Marshall Kent State 75 +3
- T64 Patricia Sanz Auburn 75 +3
- T64 Isabelle Boineau Arizona 75 +3
- T64 Amanda Strang South Carolina 75 +3
- T64 Jaclyn Sweeney Arizona State 75 +3
- T64 Jennifer Kirby Alabama, U. of 75 +3
- T72 Kaitlin Drolson Pepperdine 76 +4
- T72 Brooke Goodwin Vanderbilt 76 +4
- T72 Courtney McKim Oklahoma State 76 +4
- T72 Rosalyn Kim * Texas Tech 76 +4
- T72 Sarah Beth Davis Texas A&M 76 +4
- T72 Sarah Bradley Kent State 76 +4
- T72 Mercedes Germino Kent State 76 +4
- T72 Macarena Silva Florida State Univ. 76 +4
- T72 Shannon Fish Texas 76 +4
- T72 Corrine Carr South Carolina 76 +4
- T72 Sara Monberg Tennessee 76 +4
- T72 Tiffany Lua UCLA 76 +4
- T72 Carlota Ciganda Arizona State 76 +4
- T72 Diana Cantu Tennessee 76 +4
- T72 Stephanie Kono UCLA 76 +4
- T87 Joy Kim Virginia 77 +5
- T87 Katrina Delen Briones San Jose State Univ 77 +5
- T87 Nina Muehl * East Tennessee St. 77 +5
- T87 Maribel Lopez Porras Tulane University 77 +5
- T87 Ashley Freeman Texas A&M 77 +5
- T87 Rachel Raastad TCU 77 +5
- T87 Ashley McKenney Tulane University 77 +5
- T87 Taylor Barrett South Carolina 77 +5
- T87 Inah Park Southern California 77 +5
- T87 Nikki Koller Arizona 77 +5
- T87 Benedicte Toumpsin South Carolina 77 +5
- T87 Madison Pressel Texas 77 +5
- T87 Carlie Yadloczky Auburn 77 +5
- T87 Helena Blomberg Alabama, U. of 77 +5
- T101 Lauren Stratton Vanderbilt 78 +6
- T101 Jessica Wallace Pepperdine 78 +6
- T101 Samantha Troyanovich Tulane University 78 +6
- T101 Louise Kristersson TCU 78 +6
- T101 Lacey Agnew Florida State Univ. 78 +6
- T101 Bethany Buchner New Mexico 78 +6
- T101 Sarah Salvo New Mexico 78 +6
- T108 Kate Hildahl Oregon 79 +7
- T108 Lauren Greenlief Virginia 79 +7
- T108 Kendra Little Oregon 79 +7
- T108 Linn Gustafsson Tulane University 79 +7
- T108 Janine Fellows Tulane University 79 +7
- T108 Desiree Dubreuil Texas 79 +7
- T108 Alejandra Llaneza Arizona 79 +7
- T108 Stacey Kim Duke 79 +7
- T116 Erica Omlid Oregon 80 +8
- T116 Chloe Garner Texas A&M 80 +8
- T116 Martina Gavier Kent State 80 +8
- T116 Thea Hoffmeister Purdue 80 +8
- T116 Rebecca Hellbom New Mexico 80 +8
- 121 Sydney Burlison Stanford 82 +10
- T122 Jody Ho San Jose State Univ 83 +11
- T122 Eyglo Oskarsdottir Oklahoma State 83 +11
- 124 Lauren Spurlock Tennessee 84 +12
- 125 Mandi Morrow Kent State 85 +13
- 126 Angela King Stanford 86 +14