Blue Devils Tie For Eighth At East Regional, Qualify For NCAA Championships

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Blue Devils Tie For Eighth At East Regional, Qualify For NCAA Championships

5/21/2005 1:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

May 21, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Blue Devils did not play their best golf today, but a strong finish by freshman Michael Schachner helped Duke qualify for the NCAA Championship with an eighth-place finish at the East Regional. Schachner finished at nine-under par, fifth overall, at the three-round event played at the par-71, 6,864-yard Golf Club Of Tennessee. Wake Forest won the event.

Schachner, who shot 69 and 63 in his first two rounds, played the first 11 holes of the final round in four-over, but rallied to birdie three of his last five holes. At the time, Duke was one shot below the cut line, but Schachner's finish pulled Duke back into contention.

Sophomore Jake Grodzinsky was steady all weekend, carding back-to-back scores of 70 in rounds one and two. In the final round, he posted a one-over-par 72 to finish in a tie for 26th, posting three bogeys and two birdies.

ACC Champion Ryan Blaum was the third Duke finisher, placing in a tie for 41st at two-over-par. Blaum sandwiched rounds of 73 around a 69 in round two. In today's round, he had two birdies and two bogeys, but a double on the 16th (Blaum's seventh) forced him into black numbers.

Nathan Smith also carded a 73 in the final round, finishing at five-over after rounds of 75 and 70 on the first two days. Today, he had two birdies and three bogeys.

Freshman Michael Quagliano shot 75 today, taking a wildly unconventional route. The rookie from Ardsley, N.Y. had five birdies and no bogeys, but ended up with three doubles and a triple.

"We're pretty happy to be advancing," said Head Coach Rod Myers. "It would have been nice to cruise in, but Schachner just stepped right up and we did what we needed to do. Ryan [Blaum] and Nate [Smith] both made good up-and-downs on their last hole to keep us in contention."

The Blue Devils will travel to Baltimore June 1-4 for the NCAA Championship. The top 10 teams from each of three regionals will compete for the national title.