Smith Wins; Blue Devils Drop Match to MSU at Old Barnwell

AIKEN, S.C. – Junior Andie Smith collected her second win out of three matches the last two days as the Duke women's golf team closed action at the Old Barnwell Derby Match Play on Tuesday at The Course at Old Barnwell in Aiken.

The Blue Devils dropped a tight match, 4-1, to Mississippi State to close action, while Smith moved to 7-3-1 over her Duke career in match play action.

HOW IT HAPPENED – Duke vs. Mississippi State

Mississippi State led in most of the matches early, but the Blue Devils tried to make a comeback late with two matches tied on hole No. 17 and Duke leading one other contest.
Duke rookie Anna Cañado Espinal had a very tight contest with Chiara Horder on Tuesday morning.Neither golfer led by more than 1UP score over the 18 holes.Espinal, a native of Barcelona, Spain, dropped hole No. 2, but came back to win No. 4 and No. 5 to take a 1UP lead.She held the lead until Horder won No. 9 to make the turn.The match remained tied until Horder birdied No. 13 to take a 1UP lead.Espinal eagled the par-5 No. 16 to tie the contest with two holes remaining.A bogey by Espinal gave Horder a 1UP lead with one hole left.Both golfers parred No. 18 to give Horder the 1UP victory.
After trailing the first 15 holes, freshman Carla De Troia birdied No. 16 to tie the match, but a bogey on No. 18 sent MSU's Samantha Whateley to a 1UP win.
Senior Rylie Heflin faced Izzy Pellot in the third match out on the course.Heflin, who is from Avondale, Pa., pared No. 10 to tie the match.A bogey by Heflin on No. 11 gave Pellot a 1UP lead once again.Pellot led 2UP through 16 holes, but Heflin tried to make a comeback of her own winning No. 17, but both golfers parred No. 18 to give Pellot a 1UP victory.
After winning her first two matches on Monday, sophomore Katie Li had a tough battle with 40th-ranked Avery Weed.Weed took a 3UP lead through five holes, but Li battled back to win No. 6and No. 7 to cut the lead to 1UP.Li faced a hot Weed on the back nine as she shot 5-under to pull away and win 5&3.
Mississippi State's Ana Pina Ortega opened by winning No. 1 to take a 1UP lead, but Duke's Andie Smith birdied the next hole to tie the score as she hit her driver to the front of the fringe and chipped to a foot for birdie.Ortega registered a birdie on No. 3 to regain a 1UP advantage.Smith tied the score through six holes, but Ortega once again came back to take a 1UP lead at the turn.A product of Hobe Sound, Fla., Smith shot 2-under par on the back nine to regain the lead and eventually won 2UP.Smith tied the score on No. 10, took her first lead of the match on No. 12 as she hit her 3-wood on the green from 250 yards and 2-putted.She also won No. 13 as she hit her 50-degree wedge to five feet from 102 yards for birdie.Smith never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. She had three up-and-downs on the day.

NOTES

Andie Smith moved to 7-3-1 in match play over her Duke career, while Katie Li is now 3-2-1. Rylie Heflin dropped to 7-6-2.

QUOTES

"Our results in this event don't tell the whole story. On Monday, I saw a lot of poise in windy conditions against a very tough South Carolina team, followed by a nice win against Ole Miss. Today several matches could have gone either way toward the end, and again, we were patient. It was great match play experience, on a tough course in windy conditions. Great for our process of getting better day by day." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will close the regular season at the Chattanooga Classic March 28-30 at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".

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Consolation Finals
#7 Mississippi State 4, #8 Duke 1
Chiara Horder (MSU) def. Anna Cañado Espinal (DU) 1UP
Samantha Whateley (MSU) def. Carla De Troia (DU) 1UP
Izzy Pellot (MSU) def. Rylie Heflin (DU) 1UP
#40 Avery Weed (MSU) def. #78 Katie Li (DU) 5&3
#33 Andie Smith (DU) def. Ana Pina Ortega (MSU) 2UP