Duke wins 3rd straight National Championship!
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Duke women’s golf team completed their task of earning a third consecutive National Championship Friday at the 6,351-Yard, Par 72 LPGA International Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. The win means Duke has won not only its third straight title but its fifth overall, all in the last nine years.
Duke’s five titles is second to Arizona State, who has six. ASU was the last team to three-peat, doing so in 1992-95. The championship also marks the ninth in Duke history along with three men’s basketball championships (1991, ’92 and 2001) and men’s soccer (1986).
The Blue Devils shot a two-over par 290 Friday to finish the tournament with an 18-over score of 1,170, 15 strokes better than second place Purdue (1,185). Rounding out the top 10 teams were UCLA (1,186), Southern California (1,196), Stanford (1,197), Vanderbilt (1,200), Pepperdine (1,202), Georgia (1,205), Auburn (1,213) and Louisville (1,214).
Taking home the individual title was Stacy Lewis of Arkansas, who closed with an individual-best round of 66 on Friday. She posted a four-day total of 282, which was six-under-par. Paola Morena of Southern California and Christel Boeljon of Purdue (286) were tied for second.
Duke battled fierce winds as well as off and on rain during the final day of action. The Blue Devils started the day off with an eight stroke lead over Purdue and never faltered from the lead. Towards the start of the back nine, Duke held a double-digit advantage and never looked back.
When the day was done, the Blue Devils collected three golfers in the top-seven of the individual action as Amanda Blumenherst was fourth, Anna Grzebien was sixth and Jennie Lee was tied for seventh. Jennifer Pandolfi added a 17th place finish, while Alison Whitaker was 46th.
Playing in her final collegiate round on Friday was Grzebien, who finishes her career with three straight National titles. Grzebien, who is out of Narragansett, R.I., concluded her college days with a two-under-par, 70, to finish with a 72-hole total of 292, which was sixth. She opened her day with two birdies and two bogies on the front nine to make the turn at even par, 36. On the back nine, Grzebien notched birdies on the 13th and 17th holes to finish two-under-par. Out of four NCAA Championships, she finished in the top-10 twice as she was the 2005 NCAA Individual Champion in Sunriver, Oregon.
Finishing off her amazing season was Blumenherst, who closed with a four-day total of 289 with rounds of 70, 73, 74, 72, which was fourth. A product of Scottsdale, Ariz., notched her second straight top 10 appearance in the NCAA Championship, while posting one birdie and one bogey on each nine during the last day. Her 4.63 par-five scoring on the week led the tournament, while her 14 birdies was tied for third. Blumenherst totaled top 10 finishes in all 10 tournaments she played in this season.
Also earning her second consecutive top-10 finish in a NCAA Championship was Lee, who was seventh with rounds of 76, 72, 72 and 74 to total 294. She made the turn in the afternoon at three-over-par, 39, but birdies on two of her final four holes led to a two-over finish. A native of Henderson, Nev., Lee made a dramatic finish as she chipped in from 30-feet on the 18th hole to close with a birdie. Her 53 pars was fourth in the tournament.
Since arriving at Duke three years ago, Pandolfi has guided the Blue Devils to three straight titles. She finished the week tied for 17th, which was a career-best finish in the NCAA Championship for the Navarre, Fla., product. Pandolfi totaled three birdies on the final day as she finished the week with rounds of 77, 73, 75 and 74 for a total of 299.
Freshman Alison Whitaker finished off her week with her second straight round of 78 as she closed in tied for 46th with a total of 305. Whitaker, who is from Melbourne, Australia, totaled the highlight of her tournament on the 474-yard, par five eighth hole as she collected her first career collegiate eagle. She holed out from a fairway bunker as she sent the shot about 15 feet past the hole and spun it back into the hole.
Duke totaled 11 birdies on the final day of play to go along with Whitaker’s eagle, which was one of only four eagles on the week.
The Blue Devils graduate Grzebien, but return the rest of the National Championship squad. Duke will welcome Kim Donovan to the roster next season to go along with rising sophomores Yu Young Lee and Rebecca Kim.
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