Women’s Golf Punches Ticket to NCAA Championship

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Duke women's golf program is heading to the NCAA Championship for the 35th time and will make its 33rd appearance under the direction of head coach Dan Brooks as the 10th-ranked Blue Devils placed third at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional.

Duke carded rounds of 286, 290 and 292 for a 16-over, 868, to finish in third place at the 6,260-yard, par-71 University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor. The Blue Devils have finished in the top three of the NCAA regional 24 times out of 33 appearances.

Freshman Rianne Malixi became the 12th Duke rookie to card a top-10 finish at an NCAA Regional as she totaled scores of 71, 70 and 72 for an even-par, 213, which was seventh overall. Junior Katie Li (T15th) and graduate student Andie Smith (T21) both finished in the top 21 of the individual leaderboard.

Along with the Blue Devils advancing to the NCAA Championship were Southern California, Ohio State, Northwestern and Texas Tech. The championship will take place May 22-27 in Carlsbad, California.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke opened the final round on hole No. 10 at 8 a.m., for the second day in a row.
Freshman Rianne Malixi turned in a 4-foot birdie to kick off her day on the 507-yard, par-5 No. 11 and was 1-under through five holes. She suffered back-to-back bogeys on No. 15 and No. 16, but came back to hit her 52-degree wedge from 86 yards on No. 17 to two inches for birdie. Malixi made the turn with an even-par, 35. Malixi, a native of Manila, Philippines, tapped in for birdie on No. 1, but went on to drop three shots over the next six holes. She did have an outstanding up-and-down for par on the 308-yard, par-4 sixth hole as she chipped off the bottom portion of the green from 33 yards with her 58-degree wedge and converted an easy par putt. Malixi closed her tournament by rolling in a 9-foot birdie on No. 9 to move Duke into solo third place as a team and she finished with a 72.
Katie Li collected six birdies on the day, which were the most by any player in the field Wednesday, en route to signing for an even-par, 71. With her scores of 72, 73 and 71, Li placed tied for 15th with a 3-over, 216. Li, who hails from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, hit her 50-degree wedge from 95 yards to three feet for birdie on No. 10 to kick off her morning. Li parred No. 11 and bogeyed No. 12, before notching back-to-back birdies. She drained a 20-foot birdie on No. 13 and then hit her 7-iron from 147 yards to five feet for birdie on No. 14 to get to 2-under. Li bogeyed No. 15 and No. 17 and made the turn at even-par, 35. After a tap-in birdie on No. 1, Li played the next four holes at 3-over. She regrouped though and made two consecutive birdies on the sixth and seventh holes. Li hit her 50-degree wedge from 92 yards on No. 6 and backed the ball up to two feet for birdie on No. 6. Then on the 358-yard, par-4 seventh Li drove the green and two-putted for birdie from nine feet. She hit 13 greens and had 31 putts on the day.
Andie Smith closed action with her fourth top-21 finish at an NCAA Regional as she placed tied for 21st with rounds of 70, 76 and 72 for a 5-over, 218. Smith opened play with birdies on No. 11 and No. 14 and was 1-under through five holes. She suffered a double-bogey on No. 15 and parred the next seven holes in a row. After a bogey on No. 5, Smith rolled in a 10-footer for birdie on the 308-yard, par-4 sixth hole. The Hobe Sound, Florida product parred the final three holes to finish with a 72.
In her first NCAA Regional, freshman Avery McCrery tied for 30th with rounds of 73, 71 and 78 for a 9-over, 222. McCrery, who is from Wilmington, Delaware, parred the first three holes and then rolled in a 17-foot birdie on the 310-yard, par-4 No. 13. She struggled to close the first nine holes and made the turn with a 3-over, 38. McCrery tapped in for birdie on No. 1 and then closed the day with a 4-over, 40, to finish with a 78. She registered key up-and-down pars on No. 7 and No. 9.
Anna Cañado Espinal closed action with a 77 Wednesday and finished tied for 50th, overall. She registered a birdie on hole No. 1, after reaching the greenside bunker in two and getting up-and-down for birdie.

NOTES

Northwestern's Ashley Yun won the individual title with a 5-under, 208.
Duke played the par-5 holes at 5-under-par, which ranked second in the field. The Blue Devils finished with 39 birdies to rank third overall.
Rianne Malixi tied for first with a 4-under-par score on par-5 holes. Katie Li and Malixi finished tied for fifth with 11 birdies each.
Malixi collected her fifth consecutive top 10 finish this spring.
Li totaled her 14th round this season of even or under par.
Li notched her second top-15 finish at a NCAA Regional out of three appearances.
The scoring average went up for the third day in a row to 75.61.

QUOTES

"I'm really proud of the way we competed out there. The weather conditions have been tough and were the toughest today. I think they were the most patient today. I am proud of them for climbing to third place, and I'm happy that everyone contributed in this event. Very excited for next week." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks
"I am very excited for the team. I think it's a great group. We've been working hard all season, pushing each other to get better and being faced with difficult conditions all year. Now this was probably one of the toughest conditions that we've faced so far. And really just staying patient and being true to our game and kind to our game really helped us qualify." -- Duke graduate student Andie Smith
"I love the postseason. I love competing with my team and playing for this team. It's been an honor and I'm just excited to go to nationals and do it." -- Duke graduate student Andie Smith

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will compete at the NCAA Championship May 22-27 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

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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Duke Results
Rianne Malixi                                 71-70-72=213 (E, 7)
Katie Li                                            72-73-71=216 (+3, T15)
Andie Smith                                    70-76-72=218 (+5, T21)
Avery McCrery                               73-71-78=222 (+9, T30)
Anna Cañado Espinal                   75-80-77=232 (+19, T50)
Team                                               286-290-292=868 (+16, 3rd)