Women's Golf Advances To Finals Of Hooters Collegiate Match Play

Saturday, November 4

Orlando, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two

Second-Ranked Women?s Golf Receives East Region Bid

Women's Golf Advances To Finals Of Hooters Collegiate Match Play

11/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

ORLANDO, FLA. ? In three appearances in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship, the second-seeded Duke Women's Golf Team will be making their third championship match appearance as the Blue Devils defeated 11th-seeded Michigan State, 2-2-1, in a tiebreaker at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday.

“Michigan State is a good team,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “They hit it long, have great short games and are tough as nails. We ran into a heck of a team as it wasn't that we were struggling with our golf. We were playing good golf and there were a lot of birdies. We had to play good golf to win and I am very proud of our team.”

Michigan State continued its stellar play as the Spartans jumped out to early leads in the second and third slots. After winning both of her matches on Friday, Duke's Jennie Lee lost the second hole against Sara Brown on day two and couldn't get anything going on Saturday. The match was finished after 13 holes with Brown winning, 6&5.

The Spartans went ahead 2-0 as Mandi McConnell defeated Jennifer Pandolfi, 5&4. Pandolfi, who is from Navarre, Fla., kept the match close as she was one or two down for the first 11 holes, but McConnell won four straight to close out the match through 14 holes.

Duke came back with a win of its own as freshman Alison Whitaker continued her excellent play on the weekend improving to 3-0. Whitaker, a product of Melbourne, Australia, lost the first hole against Jordyn Wells and remained one down through the first seven holes. With a birdie on the sixth hole, which was her eighth overall pin of the day, Whitaker moved the match to all square where it remained for one more hole. Then Whitaker won five consecutive holes to win the match, 5&4.

“Alison was talking about how much she loves match play before the tournament started,” said Brooks. “She is just real cool under pressure. The nice thing is everyone on the team is getting in there and contributing. We are just getting it done and getting a little bit from everyone. It is fun to pair it up because I don't feel like there is a one, two, three, four and five for us, particularly in match play.”

With the score at 2-1 in favor of Michigan State, Blue Devil sophomore Amanda Blumenherst came through with a 2up victory over Heather Rose. In the match, Blumenherst led in 15 of the 18 holes, but Rose won three consecutive holes to make the contest all square with two holes remaining. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Blumenherst closed out the match by posting two straight pars to win the match, 2up. She improved to 2-0-1 in three matches.

The match came down to Duke's Anna Grzebien versus Laura Kueny, who started their match on the 16th hole. Over the first six holes, Grzebien led for one and Kueny led for two holes. Grzebien, who is from Narragansett, R.I., took control of the match by winning the seventh and eighth holes and led for six straight before Kueny won two of the next three holes and took a 1up advantage. The match went back in favor of Grzebien as she won two straight holes and took a 1up lead with two remaining. Kueny didn't let down as she won the 17th and the match ended with an all square score as each golfer had a par on the 18th.

With the match all knotted a 2-2-1, the contest went to a tiebreaker between Grzebien and Kueny. Each golfer had a par on the first playoff hole, but Grzebien sent a 5-iron into the 156-yard, par three within two feet and made her birdie putt to give Duke the victory.

“The match was back and forth the entire time,” said Grzebien. “It got to the second playoff hole and Laura hit it within 10 feet. I knew that I had to hit a good shot to give us the win and I was able to hit a great shot dead into the wind. I had some confidence since I had played the hole earlier in the day so I knew what club to hit. I didn't realize how close the shot was until I got up there. After I made the putt, the rest of the team came out on the green and it was very exciting.”

Duke will next take on fourth-seeded Vanderbilt on Sunday with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. The Commodores knocked off top-seeded Georgia on the second day by a 3-2 score.

“Vanderbilt is a really good team and it should be an excellent match tomorrow,” said Brooks.

- d - u - k - e -

SECOND ROUND RESULTS
(4) Vanderbilt def. (1) Georgia, 3-2-0
Taylor Leon, UGA def. Chris Brady, Vandy, 2-up
Liebelei Lawrence, Vandy def. Whitney Wade, UGA, 4 and 3
Jacqui Concolino, Vandy def. Mallory Hetzel, UGA, 2 up
Garrett Phillips, UGA def. Kristen Svicarovich, Vandy, 2 and 1
Julie Bartholomew, Vandy def. Alina Lee, UGA, 3 & 2

(2) Duke def. (11) Michigan State, 3-2-0
Amanda Blumenherst, Duke def. Heather Rose, MSU, 2-up
Mandi McConnell, MSU def. Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke, 5 and 4
Sara Brown, MSU def. Jennie Lee, Duke, 6 and 5
Anna Grzebien, Duke def. Laura Kueny, MSU in 20 Holes
Alison Whitaker, Duke def. Jordyn Wells, MSU, 5 and 4

(12) LSU def. (9) Arkansas, 3-0-2
Stacy Lewis, Ark halved Melissa Eaton, LSU
Nicola Eaton, LSU def. Alexandra Schulte, Ark, 2-up
Rebecca Kuhn, LSU def. Lucy Nunn, Ark, 5 and 4
Ashley Medders, Ark halved Alexis Rather, LSU
Kimberly Meck, LSU def. Whitney Sylvan, Ark, 4 and 3

(3) Auburn def. (7) Florida State, 3-1-1
Nicole Hage, Auburn def. Caroline Westrup, FSU, 2-up
Kayla Shaul, FSU def. Marissa Milligan, Auburn, 2 and 1
Candace Schepperle, Auburn def. Whitney Wright, FSU, 4 and 3
Abigale Schepperle, Auburn def. Whitney Brummett, FSU, 6 and 4
Margaret Shirley, Auburn halved Jaclyn Burch, FSU

(10) Florida def. (14) Alabama, 4-1-0
Sandra Gal, UF def. Jenny Suh, Bama, 5 and 4
Helena Blomberg, Bama def. Tiffany Chudy, UF, 5 and 4
Whitney Myers, UF def. Sarah Sturm, Bama, 2 and 1
Mallory Blackwelder, UF def. Laura Goodwin, Bama, 5 and 4
Ornella Jouven, UF def. Rhea Nair, Bama, 5 and 3

(5) Wake Forest def. (8) Purdue, 2-2-1 in Tiebreaker
Amanda Goins, WFU halved Maria Hernandez, Purdue
Christina Boeljon, Purdue def. Nannette Hill, WFU, 3 and 1
Laura Crawford, WFU def. Myrte Eikenaar, Purdue, 2 and 1
Whitney Frykman, Purdue def. Margaret Simons, WFU, 2 and 1
Dolores White, WFU def. Stephanie Oukeo, Purdue, 5 and 4