Blue Devils Conclude Play at Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Duke women's golf team concluded play at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Wednesday, which was being contested at the 6,413-yard, par-71 Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

After finishing either first or second in three-straight tournaments, the Blue Devils finished 13th with rounds of 296, 306 and 300 for a 54-hole ledger of 50-over, 902. Duke opened play on No. 10 and had a delay middle way through the round due to inclement weather.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Junior Andie Smith led the Blue Devils on the week with a tied for 29th finish with rounds of 73, 74 and 75 for a three-day ledger of 222.In the final round, she opened slow with three bogeys over her first six holes.Smith, a native of Hobe Sound, Fla., regrouped and then rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on No. 17 and then hit her 54-degree wedge from 94 yards on No. 4 and converted a 6-foot birdie to get to 1-over-par for the day.She dropped three shots over her final five holes to finish with a 75.Smith had three up-and-downs on the day, while hitting 10 fairways and 13 greens.
Duke's best round of the day was registered by freshman Carla De Troia, who posted a 3-over, 74.She collected the Blue Devils' first birdie of the morning on the 368-yard, par-4 No. 11, but dropped a shot on the next hole.De Troia, who is from Paris, France, posted another birdie on the 380-yard, par-4 No. 14 to get back to 1-under.She then closed the afternoon with a 4-over-par score over the final 13 holes.
Blue Devil sophomore Katie Li finished the week off with a 4-over, 75, in the final round.She was limited to one birdie on the 317-yard, par-4 fifth hole as she hit a knockdown pitching wedge from 112 yards to six feet.She hit 13 greens and 10 fairways on the day.
Fellow rookie Anna Cañado Espinal totaled 76 in the final round.She went par and bogey over her first two holes, but then registered back-to-back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13 to return to even.Espinal, a product of Barcelona, Spain, played her final 14 holes at 6-over-par.She finished with a team-best 28 putts on the day.
Senior Rylie Heflin notched one birdie in the final round and signed for an 80.

NOTES

South Carolina and LSU tied for first as a team with LSU taking the team title by a tiebreaker.
Both Kendall Todd of Arkansas and Louise Rydqvist of South Carolina tied for first individually with a 1-under, 212.
Duke finished with a season-low 26 birdies over three days.

QUOTES

"Obviously we're disappointed with our scoring.But I'm not at all disappointed in their attitudes and effort. We did our best and that's all we can ever do."-- Duke head coach Dan Brooks

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will next travel to Aiken, S.C., to compete in the Old Barnwell Match Play March 17-18.

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

#GoDuke

Team Results
LSU (289-288-286=863)
South Carolina (291-282-290=863)
Arkansas (288-285-294=867)
Wake Forest (291-291-289=871)
Arizona State (291-288-293=872)
Texas (291-293-297=881)
Northwestern (298-288-295=881)
Vanderbilt (290-293-301=884)
Auburn (294-291-299=884)
Ohio State (295-299-291=885)
Alabama (298-296-298=892)
Georgia (297-300-298=895)
Duke (296-306-300=902)
UCLA (301-303-305=909)
Baylor (304-304-303=911)
Mississippi State (297-304-310=911)
Kentucky (303-309-300=912)

Duke Results
Andie Smith (73-74-75=222, +9, T29)
Carla De Troia (75-77-74=226, +13, T52)
Anna Cañado Espinal (75-77-76=228, +15, T61)
Katie Li (73-81-75=229, +16, T68)
Rylie Heflin (79-78-80=237, +24, T83)