STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -  Playing with only four golfers on Friday in the second round of the NCAA East Regional, the fifth-ranked and third-seeded Duke women’s golf team registered the second-best round of the day to move from tied for 11th up to fifth with 18 holes remaining at the 6,253-yard, par 72 Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pa.

The Blue Devils posted a five-over-par, 293, and sit in fifth overall with a 36-hole total of 595, which is 13 shots off South Carolina (582), who is coached by Duke alum Kalen Anderson.  Alabama (589) is in second, while Florida (591), Texas A&M (592), Duke (595), Texas (596), Arizona (598), Washington (599), Arizona State (601) and Tulane (603) round out the top 10 teams.  The top eight teams following Saturday’s round will advance to the NCAA Championship from May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn.

Duke had a great start to the day and moved up to as high as second overall but the Blue Devils lost six strokes over the last four holes to finish at five-over-par.  On the day for the Blue Devils, Lindy Duncan, Courtney Ellenbogen and Stacey Kim all shot even par.  Duke opened action on Friday on hole No. 10.

“Obviously, those three that shot even par were great,” commented Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks.  “They were tough.  The wind was changing and the rough was high.  I was very proud of them.”  

Duncan, enters the final round tied for sixth with a 145, after totaling rounds of 73 and 72.  A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Duncan featured a front nine that included seven pars, one birdie and one bogey.  She was around the cup the entire nine but couldn’t get a putt to drop, except for a short birdie on the 531-yard, par five 12th hole, after hitting her second shot onto the green in two.

The No. 1 ranked golfer in the nation, Duncan collected back-to-back birdies on No. 1 and No. 2 to start off her final nine holes to move to two-under-par.  She hit her approach shot on the 175-yard, par three fourth hole into the bunker on the left side of the green and ended with a three-putt double-bogey to drop back to even par.  Duncan responded with her fourth birdie of the day on the next hole, but suffered bogeys on No. 6 and No. 8 to fall to one-over-par.  On the 511-yard, par five ninth, Duncan hit her approach shot into the green side bunker and registered a sand save for birdie to finish at even par.  

On the day, Duncan hit 12 greens, nine fairways and had 31 putts.  Her even-par round is the 18th this season, which is tied for a career best and tied for fifth on Duke’s single-season charts.  Duncan’s seven birdies in two rounds is tied for the second-most in the East Regional field, while her four-under-par par five scoring is tied for first.  

Continuing to lead the individual action is Texas A&M’s Katerina Ruzickova with a four-under-par, 140.  Katie Burnette and Justine Dreher of South Carolina are second (143).  

Ellenbogen, who is out of Blacksburg, Va., collected just her second round of even par on the season as she notched three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars in the afternoon.  The junior has played her last 28 holes at even par, including 21 pars.  Her 26 pars in two rounds is tied for the fourth-highest total through 36 holes.  

“I think it takes a certain type of focus when you know that your score is counting no matter what,” said Ellenbogen.  “But there is enough out on the golf course to focus on that it didn’t cause to much stress.  Everyone was pretty calm and just said this is the situation.  There is nothing that we could do about it and no point in getting worked up about it.”

She opened her round with four consecutive pars before going bogey, birdie and bogey on holes 14-16.  Ellenbogen drained a 30-footer for birdie on the 343-yard, par four 15th for her first birdie.  She closed her first nine holes with back-to-back birdies as she rolled in a 10-footer on the 17th and 20-footer on No. 18.  

On her final nine, Ellenbogen posted eight pars and one bogey on No. 6 to finish with a 72.  This included rolling in a 30-footer for up-and-down on hole No. 1.  For the day, she hit 12 greens, a season-best 12 fairways and had 30 putts.  Ellenbogen also had three up-and-downs and is tied for 24th overall with a 148.  

“They have a lot of experience and are a little older players,” commented Brooks on the play of Ellenbogen and Kim.  “It really showed up today.  That is the kind of stuff players who have been around a while can do.”

A native of Columbus, Ga., Kim notched her fourth round of even or under par this year as she collected three birdies on the afternoon.  Kim played most of the day at under-par after notching birdies on her first and third holes of the day.  She sank a six-footer for birdie on No. 10 and then stuck her approach on the par five 12th to within two feet for birdie to move to two-under-par.  

Kim then played the next 14 holes at three-over-par with 11 pars and three bogeys on No. 16, No. 7 and No. 8.  After totaling back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth holes, she stuck a wedge to within two feet and sank her birdie to finish at even par, 72.  She hit a team-best 13 greens, nine fairways and had 31 putts.  

Over the first two rounds, sophomore Laetitia Beck has posted strong starts as she was even par through 14 holes on Thursday and on Friday was one-under-par through 11 holes.  Overall, Beck is even par over her first nine holes and nine-over-par during her final nine through two days.  

Beck was one-under-par heading to the 386-yard, par four third hole on the back nine but hit her drive to the right into the trees.  A product of Caesarea, Israel, Beck then punched out, but the ball went a little to far into the rough.  On her third shot, she hit a tree limb and the ball came down short.  She two-putted for double-bogey once on the green to drop to one-over-par.  Beck then registered pars on the next two holes.   

On the final four holes, she went bogey, bogey, double-bogey and par to finish with a 77.  She hit seven fairways, tied a team-best with 12 greens and had 33 putts.  Beck is tied for 63rd with a 153.  

The Blue Devils played the second round without sophomore Alejandra Cangrejo, who was injured on hole No. 12 in the first round.  She will test out her injured elbow on Saturday morning to see if she can play.  

“We are going to be really conservative about her injury,” said Brooks.  “If I had to put money on it right now I would say she is probably not going to play.”

Duke will tee off on Saturday in the final round beginning at 8:36 a.m., along with Texas A&M and Texas.  

“Same thing as today,” said Brooks on what he will tell the team going into Saturday’s final round.  “We talked about being calm and trusting your game.  Sometimes things will come out your way because everybody is feeling it out there.  So you have to keep remembering that.  You can get a little help from the other teams sometimes.”

Notes:

•  After posting only two birdies on the par fives in the first round, Duke registered eight on Friday in the second round.  

• Lindy Duncan owns four victories this season and will be paired with individual leader Katerina Ruzickova of Texas A&M in the final round.  Duncan trails Ruzickova by five strokes.  

•  Lindy Duncan had a double-bogey on Friday in the second round, which is only the fifth this season for the junior.

•  Duke was nine-over-par on holes 6-8 to close Friday’s round.  In the first round on Thursday, the Blue Devils were seven-over-par on holes 14-16.  Duke is 16-over-par during those two stretches and only three-over-par the rest of the 12 holes.  

•  Earlier this season at the Tar Heel Invitational, Duke played the second round without Laetitia Beck due to her observing a Jewish holiday.  Duke was forced to play this round with only four golfers.  In 2005-06, Duke played the Bryan National Collegiate with only four golfers and finished second.  In 2004-05, the Blue Devils played the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge and the Bryan National Collegiate with only four golfers.  Duke finished third at the regional challenge and first at the Bryan National.  


 - d - u - k - e -

Duke Results
T17 T6 Lindy Duncan Duke 73 72 145 +1
T51 T24 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 76 72 148 +4
T59 T31 Stacey Kim Duke 77 72 149 +5
T51 T63 Laetitia Beck Duke 76 77 153 +9
T125 - Alejandra Cangrejo Duke W W - -

1 2 Team Scores
1 1 South Carolina 288 294 582 +6
2 2 Alabama 292 297 589 +13
3 3 Florida 294 297 591 +15
T4 4 Texas A&M 296 296 592 +16
T11 5 Duke 302 293 595 +19
T4 6 Texas 296 300 596 +20
T11 7 Arizona 302 296 598 +22
T4 8 Washington 296 303 599 +23
T13 9 Arizona State 303 298 601 +25
7 T10 Tulane 298 305 603 +27
21 T10 Campbell 313 290 603 +27
9 12 Michigan State 300 304 604 +28
8 T13 Oklahoma State 299 308 607 +31
17 T13 Kent State 306 301 607 +31
T18 T13 Augusta State 311 296 607 +31
10 T16 UCF 301 307 608 +32
15 T16 Wake Forest 304 304 608 +32
T13 T18 Maryland 303 307 610 +34
T18 T18 San Diego State 311 299 610 +34
16 20 Northwestern 305 308 613 +37
T18 21 Chattanooga 311 306 617 +41
22 22 Jacksonville St. 314 304 618 +42
24 23 Oral Roberts 327 315 642 +66
23 24 Long Island 324 321 645 +69

Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Katerina Ruzickova Texas A&M 67 73 140 -4
T6 T2 Katie Burnett South Carolina 72 71 143 -1
3 T2 Justine Dreher South Carolina 70 73 143 -1
T39 T4 Natalie Wille Augusta State 75 69 144 E
T24 T4 Charlotte Lorentzen * Georgia State 74 70 144 E
T17 T6 Maria Juliana Loza Chattanooga 73 72 145 +1
T24 T6 Casey Kennedy Augusta State 74 71 145 +1
T17 T6 Lindy Duncan Duke 73 72 145 +1
T4 T6 Jennifer Kirby Alabama 71 74 145 +1
2 T10 Juliet Vongphoumy Maryland 68 78 146 +2
T24 T10 Stephanie Meadow Alabama 74 72 146 +2
T6 T10 Evan Jensen Florida 72 74 146 +2
T39 T13 Gina Clark San Diego State 75 72 147 +3
T6 T13 Monifa Sealy UCF 72 75 147 +3
T72 T13 Michelle Koh Campbell 78 69 147 +3
T51 T13 Lucia Fernandez Valdes Jacksonville St. 76 71 147 +3
T6 T13 Gemma Dryburgh Tulane 72 75 147 +3
T6 T13 Nicole Vandermade Texas 72 75 147 +3
T6 T13 Maribel Lopez-Porras Tulane 72 75 147 +3
T24 T13 Caroline Powers Michigan State 74 73 147 +3
T39 T13 Brooke Pancake Alabama 75 72 147 +3
T51 T13 Camilla Hedberg Florida 76 71 147 +3
T24 T13 Justine Lee Arizona State 74 73 147 +3
T39 T24 Cheyenne Woods Wake Forest 75 73 148 +4
T24 T24 Katelyn Sepmoree Texas 74 74 148 +4
T17 T24 Amanda Strang South Carolina 73 75 148 +4
T17 T24 Kelsey Vines Oklahoma State 73 75 148 +4
T24 T24 Katie Mundy * Florida International 74 74 148 +4
T51 T24 Courtney Ellenbogen Duke 76 72 148 +4
T39 T24 Margarita Ramos Arizona 75 73 148 +4
T51 T31 Mercedes Germino Kent State 76 73 149 +5
T24 T31 Mandi Morrow Kent State 74 75 149 +5
T72 T31 Sadena Parks Washington 78 71 149 +5
T24 T31 Lindsey Solberg Michigan State 74 75 149 +5
T6 T31 Kelly Shon * Princeton 72 77 149 +5
T59 T31 Stacey Kim Duke 77 72 149 +5
T24 T31 Mia Piccio Florida 74 75 149 +5
T39 T31 Manon Gidali Arizona 75 74 149 +5
T24 T31 Giulia Molinaro Arizona State 74 75 149 +5
T89 T40 Christine Wong San Diego State 79 71 150 +6
T39 T40 Carolin Pinegger UCF 75 75 150 +6
T39 T40 Devon Brown Northwestern 75 75 150 +6
T39 T40 SooBin Kim Washington 75 75 150 +6
T6 T40 Jayde Panos Oklahoma State 72 78 150 +6
T39 T40 Isabelle Boineau Arizona 75 75 150 +6
T6 T40 Andrea Watts Florida 72 78 150 +6
T59 T47 Jessie Hollandsworth Maryland 77 74 151 +7
T99 T47 Kaylin Yost Campbell 80 71 151 +7
T24 T47 Brianna Maynard Long Island 74 77 151 +7
T17 T47 Bertine Strauss Texas 73 78 151 +7
T39 T47 Fanny Cnops * UNCG 75 76 151 +7
T59 T47 Nikki Koller Arizona 77 74 151 +7
T6 T47 Hannah Collier Alabama 72 79 151 +7
T24 T47 Mary Michael Maggio Texas A&M 74 77 151 +7
T72 T55 Hana Lee Northwestern 78 74 152 +8
T72 T55 Allison Emrey Wake Forest 78 74 152 +8
T59 T55 Jennifer Ha Kent State 77 75 152 +8
T59 T55 Haley Stephens Texas 77 75 152 +8
T6 T55 Jennifer Yang Washington 72 80 152 +8
T89 T55 Patricia Garcia Texas A&M 79 73 152 +8
T59 T55 Daniela Ordonez Arizona State 77 75 152 +8
T51 T55 Natalie Reeves Texas A&M 76 76 152 +8
T24 T63 Marissa Dodd Wake Forest 74 79 153 +9
T72 T63 Meredith Swanson South Carolina 78 75 153 +9
T51 T63 Jocelyn Alford Oklahoma State 76 77 153 +9
T4 T63 Kelli Bowers Washington 71 82 153 +9
T59 T63 Laura Wearn * Furman 77 76 153 +9
T89 T63 Sarah Beth Davis Texas A&M 79 74 153 +9
T72 T63 Laura Blanco Arizona State 78 75 153 +9
T51 T63 Laetitia Beck Duke 76 77 153 +9
T51 T71 Katie Mitchell UCF 76 78 154 +10
T39 T71 Alex Lederhausen Northwestern 75 79 154 +10
T59 T71 Marion Duvernay Chattanooga 77 77 154 +10
T17 T71 Teresa Urquizu Campbell 73 81 154 +10
T72 T71 Samantha Troyanovich Tulane 78 76 154 +10
T24 T71 Liz Nagel Michigan State 74 80 154 +10
T59 T77 O. Kristinsdottir Wake Forest 77 78 155 +11
T109 T77 Lisbeth Brooks Campbell 82 73 155 +11
T72 T77 Jordan Britt Chattanooga 78 77 155 +11
T72 T77 Cyd Okino Washington 78 77 155 +11
T89 T77 Desiree Dubreuil Texas 79 76 155 +11
T72 T77 Allyssa Ferrell Michigan State 78 77 155 +11
T72 T77 Michelle Piyapattra * Columbia 78 77 155 +11
T99 T84 Christine Shimel Maryland 80 76 156 +12
T89 T84 Malin Enarsson San Diego State 79 77 156 +12
T89 T84 Kirsty Rands Augusta State 79 77 156 +12
T72 T84 Alheli Moreno Oral Roberts 78 78 156 +12
T59 T84 Stephanie Wagstaff Tulane 77 79 156 +12
T72 T84 Josephine Janson Oklahoma State 78 78 156 +12
T17 T84 Suzie Lee South Carolina 73 83 156 +12
T59 T84 Ashley McKenney Tulane 77 79 156 +12
T72 T92 Kaitlyn Price UCF 78 79 157 +13
T59 T92 Brittany Mai Northwestern 77 80 157 +13
T72 T92 Emily Gimpel Maryland 78 79 157 +13
T72 T92 Noemi Jimenez Arizona State 78 79 157 +13
T99 T96 Shamira Marshall Kent State 80 78 158 +14
T107 T96 Astrid Parsson Jacksonville St. 81 77 158 +14
T99 T96 Ornella Arrizon Jacksonville St. 80 78 158 +14
T107 T96 Isabelle Lendl Florida 81 77 158 +14
T89 T96 Johanna Tillstrom Alabama 79 79 158 +14
T99 T101 Alessia Knight San Diego State 80 79 159 +15
T89 T101 Amy Ruengmateekhun Oklahoma State 79 80 159 +15
T99 T103 Valentina Fontaine UCF 80 80 160 +16
T109 T103 Lourdes Lopez Caballo Jacksonville St. 82 78 160 +16
T113 T103 Brooke Bellomy Campbell 83 77 160 +16
T59 T103 Luz Armijo-Fernandez Jacksonville St. 77 83 160 +16
T99 T103 Tiffany Robbins Oral Roberts 80 80 160 +16
T99 T108 Lauren Weaver Northwestern 80 81 161 +17
T109 T108 Christine Meier Michigan State 82 79 161 +17
T109 T108 Kyndall Ardoin Arizona 82 79 161 +17
T72 T111 Amy Alston San Diego State 78 84 162 +18
T113 T111 Marit Bjerke Augusta State 83 79 162 +18
T89 T113 Erin Hawe Kent State 79 84 163 +19
T113 T113 Sophie Weilguni Chattanooga 83 80 163 +19
T89 T113 Cristina Felip Long Island 79 84 163 +19
T116 T116 Christine Duschek-Hansen Augusta State 84 80 164 +20
T121 T116 Kylie Bollenbach Oral Roberts 87 77 164 +20
T121 T116 Anna Palsson Long Island 87 77 164 +20
T116 T116 Crystal Reeves Oral Roberts 84 80 164 +20
T116 120 Alice Boothroyd Long Island 84 83 167 +23
T116 121 Greta Lange Wake Forest 84 84 168 +24
120 122 Ashton Collier Oral Roberts 85 84 169 +25
T121 123 Mette Kryger Chattanooga 87 83 170 +26
124 124 Julia Rappa Long Island 110 101 211 +67
T125 - Alejandra Cangrejo Duke W W - -
T125 - Lauren Varnas Maryland A 85 - -