DURHAM, N.C.-- The top-ranked Duke women’s golf team received its 16th consecutive bid to participate in NCAA Regional action on Monday as the Blue Devils were seeded No. 1 in the East Region and will next travel to Athens, Ga., from May 8-10 to play for a bid to the NCAA Championship. The tournament will be played at the 6,335-yard, Par 72 University of Georgia Golf Club.
“I am glad we are going back to the University of Georgia Golf Club,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “You need to respect that course and we gained respect for it when we went down there earlier this season. The greens have been redone -- you have to prepare yourself for it and take it very seriously. We will have a good practice round in preparation.”
Duke has claimed East Region titles on seven occasions and is coming off shooting a 20-under-par, 844, last year in Baton Rouge, La. Other years the Blue Devils have won in the East Region were 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004).
Other teams competing in the East Region are Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Virginia, New Mexico, Vanderbilt, Louisville, South Carolina, Furman, East Carolina, Georgia State, Central Florida, Missouri, Indiana, UNC Wilmington, Jacksonville State, Charleston Southern and Jackson State (all teams are listed in seed order from 2-21). Three individuals also received invitations to the NCAA East Regional-- Dori Carter (Ole Miss), Emma DeGroot (Tennessee-Chattanooga) and Paula Hurtado (Florida International).
The regional will be a three-day, 54-hole tournament with 18 holes played each day at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. The top eight teams and top two individuals (not on one of those eight teams) advance on to the NCAA Championships to be played May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M. The Blue Devils are the three-time defending NCAA Championships and have won a total of five NCAA titles (1999, 2002).
Earlier this season, Duke played at the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic, which was played at the University of Georgia Golf Club. The Blue Devils struggled finished tied for fifth with rounds of 314, 300, 304 for a total of 918. Blumenherst finished tied for third and Lee added a tied for 15th placement.
Duke is coming off winning its 13th consecutive ACC Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla.., and have won four of its nine tournaments this season, while also winning the NGCA Match Play Championship as well. Duke is led by four golfers ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, including the nations top-ranked golfer, Amanda Blumenherst. Other Blue Devils ranked include junior Jennie Lee (21), sophomore Alison Whitaker (32), senior Jennifer Pandolfi (46).
Brooks is in his 24th season with the Blue Devils and has led Duke to a NCAA-record 107 career wins. He has taken his squads to the NCAA Regionals every year since 1993.
As a team, Duke is ranked No. 1 in the latest Golf World/NGCA Division I Coaches’ Poll. Rounding out the top 10 were UCLA, Southern California, Arizona State, Florida, Purdue, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas. The Blue Devils are also ranked No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Southern California is No. 1 followed by No. 2 UCLA, while Duke, Florida, Arizona State, Purdue, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Arkansas and Auburn round out the top 10.
NCAA Regional Selections
The East regional will be played May 8-10 at the UGA Golf Course, Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.
Teams:
1. Duke (Atlantic Coast Conference)
2. Florida ( Southeastern Conference)
3. Georgia
4. Auburn
5. Wake Forest
6. Tennessee
7. Virginia
8. New Mexico (Mountain West Conference)
9. Vanderbilt
10. Louisville
11. South Carolina
12. Furman (Southern Conference)
13. East Carolina
14. Georgia State
15. UCF
16. Missouri
17. Indiana
18. North Carolina-Wilmington (Colonial Athletic Association)
19. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference)
20. Charleston Southern (Big South Conference)
21. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Individuals:
1. Dori Carter, Mississippi
2. Emma Degroot, Chattanooga
3. Paula Hurtado, Florida International
Central Regional
The Central regional will be played May 8-10 at the University of Texas Golf Course, Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.
Teams:
1. UCLA
2. Purdue (Big Ten Conference)
3. Alabama
4. Denver (Sun Belt Conference)
5. Kent State (Mid-American Conference)
6. Pepperdine
7. LSU
8. Texas A&M
9. Notre Dame (Big East Conference)
10. Texas
11. TCU
12. Florida State
13. North Carolina State
14. East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun Conference)
15. Texas Tech
16. Washington
17. Nebraska
18. Harvard (Ivy Group)
19. Texas State (Southland Conference)
20. Illinois State (Missouri Valley Conference)
21. Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast Conference)
Individuals:
1. Steffi Kirchmayr, College of Charleston
2. Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas-Little Rock
3. Araceli Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina
West Regional
The West regional will be played May 8-10 at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club, Lincoln, California, hosted by Sacramento State University. Conference automatic qualifiers are indicated in parenthesis next to the institution.
Teams:
1. Southern California (Pacific-10 Conference)
2. Arizona State
3. Arkansas
4. Arizona
5. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
6. California
7. Michigan State
8. Stanford
9. BYU
10. Tulsa (Conference USA)
11. North Carolina
12. Ohio State
13. San Jose State
14. Oklahoma
15. Oregon
16. UNLV
17. UC Davis
18. UC Irvine (Big West Conference)
19. Fresno State (Western Athletic Conference)
20. Oral Roberts (The Summit League)
21. Portland State (Big Sky Conference)
Individuals:
1. Mallory Blackwelder, Kentucky
2. Danielle Cvitanov, San Francisco
3. Emily Powers, Kansas
