Top-Ranked Blue Devils Head To NCAA East Regional - Duke University

May 5, 2004

2004 NCAA East Regional May 6-8, 2004 Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. * Mission Inn 54 Hole Medal Play * 18 Holes Each Day

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DUKE HEADS TO EAST REGIONAL

The top-ranked Duke women's golf team will travel to Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., to compete in the 2004 East Regionals on May 6-8 at the Par 72, 6,165-yard El Campeon Course at the Mission Inn Resort. The Blue Devils are in search of their fifth straight East Region title and 10th victory of the season out of 11 tournaments.

Participating in the regional will be-- Duke (1), Auburn (7), Oklahoma State (10), Wake Forest (20), UNLV (21), Florida (18), North Carolina (16), Tulane (19), LSU, Tennessee (23), Furman (24), South Carolina, Florida State, Ole Miss, UNC Wilmington, Alabama, Miami, North Carolina State, Campbell, Saint Francis and Southern. The teams are listed in seed order and the rankings are from the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

Last year, the Blue Devils won the East Regional played in Clemmons, N.C.

NOTING THE BLUE DEVILS

Heading into the East Regional, the Blue Devils have won nine of 10 tournaments with the lone third place finish coming with only four golfers playing. Both Liz Janangelo and Virada Nirapathpongporn missed the Liz Murphey Collegiate due to playing in the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship.

All five of the Duke golfers traveling this week rank in the top 16 of the Golfweek rankings- Janangelo (1), Brittany Lang (3), Nirapathpongporn (5), Anna Grzebien (15) and Leigh Anne Hardin (16). Each of the five golfers playing this weekend have also scored in the 60s during the season.

BLUE DEVILS IN THE NCAA'S

This marks the 12th consecutive year there has been a regional system for women's golf. Duke has advanced nine of the last 10 times, finishing in the top four of the regional all nine years the squad has advanced.

Duke has posted three individual medalists at the regionals as Beth Bauer won the East Regional in 1999 after shooting 74-70-71=215, Virada Nirapathpongporn won in 2001 with a 65-73-71=209 and Leigh Anne Hardin won in 2002 with rounds of 71-67-72=210. As a team, the Blue Devils have taken first place honors five times in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 out of 11 appearances in the East Regionals.

Three current Blue Devils boast East Regional experience: Hardin (3), Nirapathpongporn (3) and Liz Janangelo (1).

THE HEAD COACH

Dan Brooks is in his 20th season as the head coach of the Blue Devils. The 1981 graduate of Oregon State has led Duke to 14 NCAA Tournaments during his coaching career, including nine of the last 10 years and the school's first two National Championships in 1999 and 2002.

Brooks' teams have finished with a top-20 ranking 17 times (looking for the 18th this season), while nine of his squads have earned a top-10 finish in a NCAA Tournament-- 1987 (T7th), 1988 (5th), 1994 (4th), 1996 (7th), 1998 (4th), 1999 (1st), 2001 (2nd), 2002 (1st) and 2003 (10th).

In 20 years, his teams have won 79 tournaments. He was named the 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 ACC Coach of the Year for his efforts and 1999, 2001 and 2002 National Coach of the Year. Duke has collected 12 ACC Championships during Brooks' term with the program.

Duke's lineup traveling to the East Regional this weekend are all ranked in the top -16 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

Liz Janangelo has been ranked as the top golfer in the nation for most of the season after posting a 70.65 stroke average and eight top-five finishes in eight tournaments played. The West Hartford, Conn., product has won the ACC/SEC Challenge and Bryan National Collegiate outright, while sharing the individual medalist honors at the Franklin Street Partners Invitational and the Stanford/Pepsi Intercollegiate. She leads Duke with 15 rounds of even or under par. Janangelo is the leading candidate for National Player of the Year. She missed the Liz Murphey Collegiate as she was playing in the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship. She made the cut with rounds of 71-78-70-75=294 to finish tied for 40th.

Brittany Lang has been on fire during the spring posting five top-five finishes to go along with a 70.73 stroke average. She has won the Lady Gator Invitational, Liz Murphey Collegiate and the ACC Championship in the spring. Overall, Lang has collected a 71.46 stroke average and posted seven top-10 finishes. She is the leading candidate for National Freshman of the Year and could challenge for National Player of the Year also.

Virada Nirapathpongporn has posted a 72.22 stroke average in eight tournaments, while finishing in the top-10 in seven. A Bangkok, Thailand product, Nirapathpongporn finished third at the Franklin Street Partners Invitational, which was her best finish of the year. Her worst finish of the year was tied for 11th at the Bryan National Collegiate. She did not compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate due to playing in the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Classic. She did not make the cut with rounds of 79-76.

Anna Grzebien owns a 73.35 stroke average in her first year with the Blue Devils with three top-five and four top-10 finishes. She owns the second-lowest third round stroke average on the Duke squad (71.8). The Narragansett, R.I., product has three rounds of 68 on the final day of competition this season.

Leigh Anne Hardin has registered a 73.46 stroke average in nine tournaments. The Martinsville, Ind., native owns three top-five and seven top-20 finishes to go along with 10 rounds of even or under par. She tied for first at the Franklin Street Partners Invitational for her best finish of the year.

ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN GOLF HISTORY

The 2003-04 Duke squad has been considered one of the best golfing teams in NCAA history. Golfweek ran an article in February titled "Best Ever?," while Golfworld Magazine ran an article also in February titled "Perfectly Amazing, How good is Duke's undefeated team? It just may be the best ever."

In the Blue Devils nine wins, Duke has won by an average of 21.9 strokes and have posted some incredible low scores. The Blue Devils have carded school-record rounds of 273 for 18 holes, 552 for 36 holes and 838 for 54 holes. At one point during the season, Duke collected 10 straight rounds of even or under par.

Duke also notched a school-record 49-stroke margin of victory at the Franklin Street Partners Invitational, 33 stroke win at the Lady Gator, 32 strokes at the ACC/SEC Challenge and 23 strokes at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. The most impressive thing is all of these tournaments had a number of top-five and top-10 ranked teams playing against the Blue Devils.

TWO-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

The top-ranked Duke women's golf team will begin its quest for its third NCAA Championship this weekend in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The Blue Devils won its second title in 2002 and Virada Nirapathpongporn won the Individual title.