COLUMBUS, OHIO- The Duke women?s golf team claimed its fourth NCAA Championship on Friday with a four-day total of 1,167 at the 6,203-yard, par 72 Ohio State Golf Club - Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Devils led by 13 strokes heading into the final round and concluded the tournament with a 10-stroke victory over Southern California with a 72-hole ledger of 1,167, which was 15-over-par.
The Blue Devils have won NCAA titles four times -- 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2006 -- over the last eight years and became the first teams since Arizona State in 1997 and 1998 to win back-to-back titles. The four National Championships are the most by any team in school history.
Duke posted rounds of 297-292-287-291 to finish with a total of 1,167, while Southern California (1,177), Pepperdine (1,187), Arizona State (1,195), California (1,200), Georgia (1,202), Washington (1,202), Florida (1,202), Purdue (1,203) and Arkansas (1,205) rounded out the top 10.
The Blue Devils were led by freshman Jennie Lee who turned in her best finish of her career at second with a four-day total of 288 with rounds of 73-72-72-71. Prior to this week, Lee?s best finish was seventh at the Tar Heel Invitational in the fall. On the final day, Lee birdied four of her final 11 holes to finish with her best round of the tournament, 71.
Taking home the individual championship was Southern California?s Dewi Schreefel with a two-under-par, 286. Lee was second, while UNLV?s Da Sol Chung (290), Sandra Gal of Florida (291) and Eileen Vargas of Pepperdine (291) closed out the top five individuals.
Freshman Amanda Blumenherst turned in a tied for ninth finish with a 294 after finishing the day with a 74. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native had three birdies on the day and collected her 11th top-10 finish out of 11 tournaments this season.
Liz Janangelo closed out her collegiate career with a tied for 12th placement. The West Hartford, Conn., native had a 76 on the final day to finish with a 72-hole total of 295. She had a span of four straight bogeys on the front nine before reeling off 12 consecutive pars to close out the day.
Junior Anna Grzebien turned in the best round of her tournament on the final day with a 73 and was tied for 21st for the tournament with a 297. She notched rounds of 75-75-74-73 during the week and had her tournament-best four birdies on Friday. Sophomore Jennifer Pandolfi also finished tied for 21st with a 297, after firing a 73 on Friday. The Navarre, Fla., product had two birdies on the day and closed out her season playing the best golf of her career.
After playing holes No. 16, 17 and 18 at 16-over-par during the first three days, Duke was two-under-par on Friday when it counted the most. There was a one-hour rain delay in the afternoon approximately 12 minutes after the first Duke golfer teed off.
Duke Notes:
* Duke totaled 13 birdies on the final day, 14 birdies on day three, 11 birdies on day two and 13 on the first day.
* Freshman Jennie Lee had a 3.95 par four scoring average which was a tournament best.
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Final Round Quotes:
Dan Brooks, Duke Head Coach
?I was never really scared to lose the team lead we had a solid lead coming into today. Once we got through four I thought we had a lot of momentum and I was really confident. I have been at Duke a long time and this is a great win for the University.?
Liz Janangelo, Duke
?It has been great to play here at Duke. I never thought I would win two national titles. I got to play with some great players and I have met some great people and this is just a great way to end it?
On Dan Brooks
?He has really taught me that the relationships that you build are really special. Coach is always going to be a part of my life and I know that he is always going to be there for me.?
Jennie Lee, Duke
?I have really worked on just trying to being patient and staying calm. I think that this week I did a really good job of staying calm and patient and I hit the ball really well this week and had a lot chances for birdies?
Amanda Blumenherst, Duke
?This is a great team with great chemistry. We all get along with each other and we have so much fun. It has just been a blast. We have also been disciplined enough to figure out courses and help each other out every round.?
On the win
?Coming into the tournament we all knew what we had to do. We all knew that we had the talent to win. This week we played our best golf.?
Anna Grzebien, Duke
?It was nice to win the individual title last year, but the team title is what is important. There will be plenty of other tournaments for individual wins. This was for the team.?
On the win for Duke
?Any national championship is a great one. With all that has happened this year at Duke hopefully this will go to reclaiming our name as a university.?
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