Blue Devils Open in 10th at NCAA East Regional

Thursday, May 6

Greenville, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Blue Devils Open in 10th at NCAA East Regional

5/6/2010 6:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The 2010 NCAA East Regional opened on Thursday at the 6,325-yard, Par 72 Ironwood Golf Club with the top-seeded and fifth-ranked Duke women's golf team tied for 10th place after 18 holes of action. The top eight teams following 54 holes will advance to the NCAA Championship.

Duke turned in a two-over-par, 290, on day one and is in 10th place heading into round two, while sitting 10 shots off leader, Auburn, who fired an eight-under-par, 280, on Thursday morning. Rounding out the top 10 were Pepperdine (281), South Carolina (283), Tennessee (283), Florida (284), Tulane (285), East Tennessee State (285), Texas Tech (285), TCU (287), Duke (290) and Georgia State (290).

"We shot two-over; we cannot feel to terrible bad about that," said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. "The course was giving up a lot of birdies and we didn't really have them. So you can see this pack of teams up near the top. We came down here 10-12 days ago and found out that this is a pretty easy golf course -- not a bad golf course, but you are going to be able to go low here. We have to keep our chins up, realize that some teams probably shot a little bit out of their comfort zone and we are going to keep plugging on."

The Blue Devils were led by junior Kim Donovan, who fired a one-under-par, 71, and is tied for 20th with 36 holes remaining. Freshmen Stacey Kim and Lindy Duncan each turned in an even-par 72 and are tied for 30th.

"The greens are very receptive so it is really easy to attack pins, which I think helps a lot of team and a lot of different players," commented Donovan. "So in that regard I thought it was decently easy. But, there are definitely holes out there and shots that can be hard."

Donovan, who entered regional action coming off a career-best four straight top 20 finishes and a second place finish at the Tri Match at Ironwood two weeks ago, matched her season best first round ledger with a 71 in round one. A native of Hopkinton, Mass., Donovan opened her day with bogeys on No. 2 and No. 4 before settling down and playing her final 14 holes at three-under-par.

"I am really happy for Kim," commented Brooks. "She actually shot low for us when we came down here before. She is playing well and thinking real clearly right now. So I am really happy for Kim."

She registered birdies on the fifth and ninth holes before making the turn with an even-par, 36. After suffering a bogey on No. 10 following a missed fairway, Donovan came back to stick her tee shot on the 136-yard, par three 11th to within six feet for birdie. She highlighted her day with a birdie on the par five 13th as she rolled in a 40-foot putt from off the green. Donovan hit nine fairways, 12 greens and had 30 putts.

"My day was a little bit up and down as I was two over through four," said Donovan. "I was able to bring it back with two birdies on the front. Then had two birdies and one bogey on the back to finish one-under. It was pretty simple, but somewhat boring which is great."

Continuing her solid play was Kim, who fired a 72 on day one. A product of Columbus, Ga., Kim has collected ledgers of 73 or better in each of her last five rounds of play. Kim opened with a bogey on No. 1 but settled right down and registered seven consecutive pars before sticking her approach shot to within five feet for birdie on the 375-yard, par four ninth. She compiled nine pars on the back nine, while hitting her final eight greens in regulation. Kim finished the day with 32 putts, 13 fairways and 14 greens.

"It was a pretty solid round today," said Kim. "I just made one bogey and one birdie, while the rest were pars. I left a lot out there on the greens. I felt like I missed a few really good putts, which kind of hurt to miss them. There is a lot of golf still left out there -- just keep it going tomorrow, stay patient, steady and the putts will fall."

Duncan had Duke's best round of the day going as she was two-under-par through 14 holes but the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year suffered back-to-back bogeys to close out her day with a 72. She kicked off her morning with eight straight pars before notching a birdie on No. 9. Duncan, who is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., suffered a bogey on the 11th but came right back with birdies on No. 12 and No. 14 to move to two-under-par. She finished off the day with a bogey on No. 17 and a three-putt bogey on the 18th. Her bogey on 18 was unlucky as she hit a great approach but the ball spun back 20 feet down the slop after hitting six feet below the pin.

Senior Alison Whitaker registered Duke's first birdie on the day as she rolled in a 15-footer on No. 2 and was stellar the rest of the day except for three holes. A native of Melbourne, Australia, Whitaker had a bogey on No. 6 and a triple-bogey on No. 7 to move from one-under-par to three-over-par. She settled down to play her final 11 holes at even par with a birdie on No. 13 and a bogey on the 17th. Whitaker's birdie on No. 13 was from 25 feet on the fringe of the green. For the day, she finished with a 75 and is tied for 67th.

Freshman Courtney Ellenbogen posted a 78 in her first NCAA action of her career and is tied for 106th. Ellenbogen, who is from Blacksburg, Va., notched three birdies on the day, while hitting eight fairways and notching a team-best 28 putts.

"We need to stay patient, keep believing in ourselves and keep believing that we are a very good team," said Brooks. "Hope the putts fall and if they don't I think we will probably still finish in a pretty good place. If they fall in we still have a very good chance to win this tournament."

Duke will tee off on Friday in the second round beginning at 1:26 p.m., off hole No. 10 along with Auburn and Wake Forest.

Notes:

Kim Donovan now owns six rounds of even or under par on the year. Four of those six have come over the last three tournaments.
Senior Alison Whitaker hit 12 greens, 12 fairways and had 31 putts on the day. She was 3-of-6 on up-and-downs.
As a team, Duke registered a total of 13 birdies led by Kim Donovan's four.
Last year in the NCAA East Regional, Duke opened with a 298 in round one and was tied for 10th. The Blue Devils ended the regional tied for sixth to advance to the NCAA Championship.

Duke Results

T20 - 82 Kim Donovan   Duke -1 F -1 71
T30 - 8 Lindy Duncan   Duke E F E 72
T30 -    Stacey Kim   Duke E F E 72
T67 - 61 Alison Whitaker   Duke +3 F +3 75
T106 - 83 Courtney Ellenbogen   Duke +6 F +6 78

- d - u - k - e -

1 Team Scores
1 Auburn 280 -8
2 Pepperdine 281 -7
T3 Tennessee 283 -5
T3 South Carolina 283 -5
5 Florida, U of 284 -4
T6 Tulane University 285 -3
T6 Texas Tech 285 -3
T6 East Tennessee St. 285 -3
9 TCU 287 -1
T10 Duke 290 +2
T10 Georgia State Univ. 290 +2
12 Vanderbilt 292 +4
T13 East Carolina Univ. 293 +5
T13 Chattanooga 293 +5
15 North Carolina 294 +6
16 Wake Forest 296 +8
T17 Campbell University 297 +9
T17 Charleston, Coll. of 297 +9
19 Stetson University 298 +10
T20 Washington 305 +17
T20 Furman University 305 +17
22 Coastal Carolina 307 +19
23 Charleston Southern 315 +27
24 Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 327 +39

Start Finish Player Team Scores
- 1 Nina Muehl East Tennessee St. 64 -8
- T2 Katie Burnett South Carolina 67 -5
- T2 Jessica Wallace Pepperdine 67 -5
- T2 Danielle Kang Pepperdine 67 -5
- 5 Carlie Yadloczky Auburn 68 -4
- T6 Valentine Derrey TCU 69 -3
- T6 Isabelle Lendl Florida, U of 69 -3
- T6 Mia Piccio Florida, U of 69 -3
- T6 Diana Cantu Tennessee 69 -3
- T10 Louise Kristersson TCU 70 -2
- T10 Amanda Strang South Carolina 70 -2
- T10 Sara Monberg Tennessee 70 -2
- T10 Haley Wilson Auburn 70 -2
- T10 Lisa McCloskey Pepperdine 70 -2
- T10 Beverly Mendoza Texas Tech 70 -2
- T10 Iliska Verwey Georgia State Univ. 70 -2
- T10 Rosalyn Kim Texas Tech 70 -2
- T10 Charlotte Lorentzen Georgia State Univ. 70 -2
- T10 Amy Otteson East Carolina Univ. 70 -2
- T20 Maribel Lopez Tulane University 71 -1
- T20 Linn Gustafsson Tulane University 71 -1
- T20 Samantha Troyanovich Tulane University 71 -1
- T20 Courtney Gunter North Carolina 71 -1
- T20 Emma de Groot Chattanooga 71 -1
- T20 Nicole Sakamoto * James Madison Univ. 71 -1
- T20 Candace Schepperle Auburn 71 -1
- T20 Cydney Clanton Auburn 71 -1
- T20 Kim Donovan Duke 71 -1
- T20 Laura Jansone East Tennessee St. 71 -1
- T30 Christine Wolf Chattanooga 72 E
- T30 Corrine Carr South Carolina 72 E
- T30 Janine Fellows Tulane University 72 E
- T30 Shena Yang * South Florida 72 E
- T30 Stacey Kim Duke 72 E
- T30 Lindy Duncan Duke 72 E
- T30 Nathalie Mansson Tennessee 72 E
- T30 Marina Alex Vanderbilt 72 E
- T30 Erica Popson Tennessee 72 E
- T30 Gabriella Dominguez Texas Tech 72 E
- T30 Stefanie Kenoyer Furman University 72 E
- T30 Vanessa Koechli Charleston, Coll. of 72 E
- T30 Alexandria Buelow Stetson University 72 E
- T43 Marika Lendl Florida, U of 73 +1
- T43 Sarah Thead North Carolina 73 +1
- T43 Andrea Watts Florida, U of 73 +1
- T43 Ashley McKenney Tulane University 73 +1
- T43 Brooke Beeler TCU 73 +1
- T43 Lauren Stratton Vanderbilt 73 +1
- T43 Brooke Goodwin Vanderbilt 73 +1
- T43 Kimberly Kaufman Texas Tech 73 +1
- T43 Cathrine Madsen Georgia State Univ. 73 +1
- T43 Sarah Bejgrowicz Campbell University 73 +1
- T43 Abby Bools East Carolina Univ. 73 +1
- T54 Evan Jensen Florida, U of 74 +2
- T54 Benedicte Toumpsin South Carolina 74 +2
- T54 Maria Juliana Loza Chattanooga 74 +2
- T54 Kate Thomas North Carolina 74 +2
- T54 Megan Grehan Vanderbilt 74 +2
- T54 Natalie Sheary Wake Forest 74 +2
- T54 Dolores White Wake Forest 74 +2
- T54 Cheyenne Woods Wake Forest 74 +2
- T54 Michelle Shin Wake Forest 74 +2
- T54 Mary Mattson Campbell University 74 +2
- T54 Lauren Cate Stetson University 74 +2
- T54 Kathy Boehm Charleston, Coll. of 74 +2
- T54 Leigh Whittaker Charleston, Coll. of 74 +2
- T67 Rachel Raastad TCU 75 +3
- T67 Sofia Hagsund * N. Car. Wilmington 75 +3
- T67 Anna Leigh Keith Vanderbilt 75 +3
- T67 Patricia Sanz Auburn 75 +3
- T67 Alison Whitaker Duke 75 +3
- T67 Kennie Eisenhower East Tennessee St. 75 +3
- T67 Belen Diaz Cisneros Campbell University 75 +3
- T67 Michelle Koh Campbell University 75 +3
- T67 Mayte Vizcarrondo East Tennessee St. 75 +3
- T67 Molly Aronsson Washington 75 +3
- T67 Colleen Estes East Carolina Univ. 75 +3
- T67 Ana Maria Puche East Carolina Univ. 75 +3
- T67 Aruka Felgueroso Coastal Carolina 75 +3
- T67 Amber Littman East Carolina Univ. 75 +3
- T81 Melissa Loh TCU 76 +4
- T81 Jordan Allyne North Carolina 76 +4
- T81 Taylor Barrett South Carolina 76 +4
- T81 Katie Taylor Chattanooga 76 +4
- T81 Catherine O'Donnell North Carolina 76 +4
- T81 Lauren Spurlock Tennessee 76 +4
- T81 Darcie Richmond Washington 76 +4
- T81 Laura Wearn Furman University 76 +4
- T81 Sandy Angulo Campbell University 76 +4
- T81 Sadena Parks Washington 76 +4
- T81 Lauren Darnell Stetson University 76 +4
- T81 Danielle Jackson Stetson University 76 +4
- T81 Katrin Rumpf Charleston Southern 76 +4
- T94 Kaitlin Drolson Pepperdine 77 +5
- T94 Taylore Karle Pepperdine 77 +5
- T94 Liz Wendt Furman University 77 +5
- T94 Alex Gibson Texas Tech 77 +5
- T94 Ellie Robinson Georgia State Univ. 77 +5
- T94 Sinead O'Sullivan East Tennessee St. 77 +5
- T94 Amanda D'Ostroph Charleston Southern 77 +5
- T94 Taylor Slagle Coastal Carolina 77 +5
- T94 Anna Hancock Stetson University 77 +5
- T94 Alicia Grier Coastal Carolina 77 +5
- T94 Ainhoa Nogales Charleston, Coll. of 77 +5
- T94 Michele Holzwarth Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 77 +5
- T106 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 78 +6
- T106 Karinn Dickinson Washington 78 +6
- T106 Jessica Alexander Coastal Carolina 78 +6
- T109 Anya Alvarez Washington 79 +7
- T109 Brittany Henderson Coastal Carolina 79 +7
- T109 Olivia Jordan-Higgins Charleston Southern 79 +7
- T112 Jackie Hilea Furman University 80 +8
- T112 Alexa Rancourt Furman University 80 +8
- T112 Eva Mayr Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 80 +8
- T115 Sandra Maier Georgia State Univ. 81 +9
- T115 Lisa Warrilow Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 81 +9
- 117 Madison Jeter Charleston Southern 83 +11
- 118 Katelyn Bensch Charleston Southern 84 +12
- T119 Allie Bodemann Wake Forest 85 +13
- T119 Anna Martin Charleston, Coll. of 85 +13
- 121 Jessica Benoit Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 89 +17
- 122 Lauren Chapman Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. 91 +19