Women?s Golf Leads The NCAA Championship By Eight Strokes

Thursday, May 24

Daytona Beach, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three

Women?s Golf Leads The NCAA Championship By Eight Strokes

5/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.-- The Duke Women's Golf Team is 18 holes away from its third consecutive and fifth overall NCAA Championship as the Blue Devils own an eight-stroke lead over Purdue at the 6,351-Yard, Par 72 LPGA International Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Duke posted a five-over-par, 293, on the third day of action and extended its lead by one after the second day. The Blue Devils batted through winds that gusted up to 30-35 miles per hour by the end of the day and owns a three-day total of 880 with rounds of 300, 287 and 293. Purdue shot a team-best 291 on Thursday and sits in second with an 888. Rounding out the top 10 is UCLA (893), Georgia (902), Vanderbilt (903), Stanford (903), Pepperdine (905), Southern California (905), TCU (906) and Louisville (910).

The Blue Devils started off the day off with four birdies over the first two holes and had as big as a 12 shot lead early in the afternoon, but the lead would dwindle as the day went along as the Boilermakers held on strong. Purdue cut the lead to five with three holes remaining but key birdie putts on the 407-yard, par four 17th hole, which was into a tough wind, by Duke's Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee extended the Blue Devil lead. Lee also notched key up-and-down's on No. 16 and No. 18 to preserve her even par day and Duke's lead.

“We slipped on the par five's a little bit,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “We had two birdies on 17 from Jennie (Lee) and Amanda (Blumenherst). Jennie hits a three-wood and an eight-foot putt for birdie and then Amanda hits seven wood in there. It's a 30 mile per hour wind in there, yet we're slipping a little bit on the par five's, which you would think on a windy day that is where you would have your best chance. That gives us a lot of good stuff for tomorrow to be able to do the hard stuff well. We are excited about tomorrow and it is clear that Purdue and UCLA are not going away. They are here to win this thing.”

If Duke holds on to win the National Championship, the Blue Devils would be the first women's golf team to win three straight titles since Arizona State won three in a row from 1992-95. The Blue Devils would also inch closer to Arizona State's six National Championships as Duke would own five.

In the individual race for medalist, Purdue's Christel Boeljon (210) turned in her second straight round of 69 and owns a five-shot advantage over Southern California's Paola Moreno (215). Arkansas' Stacy Lewis is third with a 216, while Blumenherst, TCU's Catherine Matranga and Vanderbilt's Jacqui Concolino are tied for fourth with a 217.

Totaling her second consecutive even-par, 72, on Thursday for the Blue Devils was Lee. A product of Henderson, Nev., Lee owns a 54-hole total of 220 and is tied for eighth. The 2006 NCAA runner-up continues to play solid golf as she notched one birdie and one bogey on both the front and back nines for the second straight day. On Thursday, Lee collected her two birdies on the 537-yard, par five second hole and the 407-yard, par four 17th.

“It was really tough with the wind as far as hitting greens today,” said Lee. “I chipped really well and made some putts to save par. I had a lot of pars and kept it going.”

Lee scrambled well towards the end as she missed the green on two of her final three holes and was able to get up and down, which was key to Duke holding on to the lead. Her 41 total pars on the week ranks tied for third through three days of action.

“I drained a really good par putt on No. 16 and then on 17 I made another good 10-footer,” said Lee. On 18 I made a seven or eight footer. Making those putts really kept me going.”

The 2005 NCAA Individual Champion and lone Blue Devil senior, Anna Grzebien, continued to play well after her season-high round of 80 on day one. A native of Narragansett, R.I., Grzebien opened her day with birdies on No. 2 and No. 7 and made the turn at two-under-par, 34. She was at two-under-par through 13, but suffered bogies on the final two par five holes, No. 14 and 16, which was very uncharacteristic, to finish at even-par, 72. Prior to those par five holes, Grzebien had played the par fives at one-under-par on the week, but it was the second time over three rounds she has bogied the 16th.

“My round was pretty steady as I gave myself birdie opportunities,” said Grzebien. “I didn't hit many putts as I lipped out a lot more than yesterday. I stumbled a few times coming in, but you are going to have a bogey here and there with this wind. It is unfortunate that they both came towards the end and I didn't have enough time to make it up.”

Grzebien is tied for 12th in the individual action with a three-day total of 222. Her statistics for Thursday included hitting 12 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens and registering 31 putts.

One of the most interesting rounds of the day came from Blumenherst, who turned in a two-over-par, 74. She opened with a par on the first hole and birdie on No. 2, but hit her tee shot fat on the 130-yard, par three third hole and went into the hazard. She ended up with a triple-bogey, but came back on the next hole and stuck her approach shot tight to get a shot back with a birdie. Two holes later she suffered a double-bogey on No. 6, but responded with two birdies over the final three holes on the front to make the turn with a 37. Her birdie on the 181-yard, par three seventh hole was one of only five birdies all day on No. 7. Blumenherst's first nine holes included three pars, four birdies, one double-bogey and one triple-bogey.

“It was definitely a roller coaster round today,” said Blumenherst. “I didn't hit some very pretty shots and they were poorly hit. I came back and I am proud of myself in that regard as it could have been a lot higher. I knew that the team needed me to keep playing strong and couldn't let it affect the way I played the rest of the round. I knew I could get it back and at least help the team a little bit. If I let it get to my emotions it could be a big number.”

Blumenherst, who is from Scottsdale, Ariz., had a much less exciting back nine as she collected six pars, two bogies and a birdie on the 17th.

“Coach [Brooks] said you have one more birdie in you and I was like alright I have one more birdie in me and I through it to him on 17,” said Blumenherst on her birdie on No. 17. “It gives me confidence. I know I am hitting it well and I am putting it well. I just had some funny shots and that is it. I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Junior Jennifer Pandolfi carded a 75 on Thursday and is tied for 18th with a 225. A native of Navarre, Fla., Pandolfi made the turn at even-par, 36, after posting one birdie, one bogey and seven pars to start out. On the back nine, she totaled three bogies, including two over the final three holes to finish at three-over-par. For the day, Pandolfi hit 11 fairways, 12 greens and had 31 putts.

Coming off an even-par, 72, on Wednesday, Alison Whitaker slipped in with a 78 on Thursday afternoon. She made the turn at even par, 72, as she notched one birdie, one bogey and seven pars on the front nine. The Melbourne, Australia freshman struggled on the back with four bogies, one double-bogey and four pars to finish at six-over-par. She is tied for 32nd with a 227 heading into the final round.

Duke played the par five holes at even par on Thursday, while collecting a total of 10 birdies. The Blue Devils will go off on hole number one in the final round on Friday beginning at 1:20 p.m., along with Purdue and UCLA.

“It is always a good place to be,” commented Grzebien on the eight-shot lead going into Friday. “Purdue played great today and coach [Brooks] said they are not going to give it to us. So we just need to take one shot at a time and take one shot at a time and try out best from the first shot to the last shot.”

Notes:

* Amanda Blumenherst ranks tied for second in the tournament with 12 birdies

* Amanda Blumenherst's 4.67 par five scoring on the week is tied for first.

* Anna Grzebien's 3.00 par three scoring on the week is tied for second.

* Duke's 10 birdies on Thursday is the fewest of the week so far for the Blue Devils as Duke totaled 11 on Tuesday and 15 on Wednesday.

* The average score on day three was 78.79, which was the highest so far on the week.

- d - u - k - e -

TEAMS

1. Duke 300-287-293--880 + 16
2. Purdue 303-294-291--888 + 24
3. UCLA 303-291-299--893 + 29
4. Georgia 303-299-300--902 + 38
5. Vanderbilt 303-302-298--903 + 39
5. Stanford 299-300-304--903 + 39
7. Pepperdine 306-299-300--905 + 41
7. Southern California 295-306-304--905 + 41
9. TCU 307-299-300--906 + 42
10. Louisville 297-306-307--910 + 46
11. Wake Forest 306-300-306--912 + 48
12. Auburn 309-304-300--913 + 49
13. Arizona 304-314-298--916 + 52
13. Arizona St. 307-298-311--916 + 52
15. Oklahoma St. 312-299-310--921 + 57
16. North Carolina 297-321-311--929 + 65
16. Michigan St. 310-307-312--929 + 65
18. Brigham Young 309-306-315--930 + 66
19. Tennessee 311-313-308--932 + 68
20. UC Irvine 303-314-316--933 + 69
21. Denver 302-324-311--937 + 73
22. New Mexico 305-314-320--939 + 75
23. Alabama 314-319-319--952 + 88
24. Indiana 320-318-323--961 + 97

INDIVIDUALS

1. Christel Boeljon, Purdue 72-69-69--210 -6
2. Paola Moreno, USC 73-72-70--215 -1
3. y-Stacy Lewis, Arkansas 71-71-74--216 E
4. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke 70-73-74--217 + 1
4. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt 75-69-73--217 + 1
4. Catherine Matranga, TCU 72-71-74--217 + 1
7. Tiffany Joh, UCLA 73-70-76--219 + 3
8. Misun Cho, Pepperdine 75-74-71--220 + 4
8. Jennie Lee, Duke 76-72-72--220 + 4
8. Lauren Todd, Stanford 70-74-76--220 + 4
11. Taylor Leon, Georgia 74-74-73--221 + 5
12. Anna Grzebien, Duke 80-70-72--222 + 6
12. Hannah Jun, UCLA 75-74-73--222 + 6
12. Anna Nordqvist, ASU 75-70-77--222 + 6
15. Stefanie Endstrasser, Purdue 77-75-71--223 + 7
15. y-Caroline Westrup, Fla. St. 74-74-75--223 + 7
17. Cindy LaCrosse, Louisville 75-78-71--224 + 8
18. Mari Chun, Stanford 76-78-71--225 + 9
18. Mandy Goins, Wake Forest 76-75-74--225 + 9
18. Selanee' Henderson, UCI 69-80-76--225 + 9
18. Nannette Hill, Wake Forest 75-76-74--225 + 9
18. Ryann O'Toole, UCLA 78-71-76--225 + 9
18. Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke 77-73-75--225 + 9
18. Candace Schepperle, Auburn 79-72-74--225 + 9
18. Margaret Shirley, Auburn 77-76-72--225 + 9
18. Whitney Wade, Georgia 76-74-75--225 + 9
27. Mary Jacobs, Arizona 79-78-69--226 + 10
27. Karin Kinnerud, Okla. St. 75-74-77--226 + 10
27. Rachel Meikle, Mich. St. 77-73-76--226 + 10
27. J. Tangtiphaiboontana, Stanford 77-72-77--226 + 10
27. Amanda Wilson, Arizona 73-78-75--226 + 10
32. Maria Hernandez, Purdue 75-77-75--227 + 11
32. Eileen Vargas, Pepperdine 76-77-74--227 + 11
32. Alison Whitaker, Duke 77-72-78--227 + 11
32. Camille Williams, Louisville 73-76-78--227 + 11
36. Chris Brady, Vanderbilt 75-80-73--228 + 12
36. Jenny Calkins, Louisville 74-75-79--228 + 12
36. Myrte Eikenaar, Purdue 79-73-76--228 + 12
36. Kate Thomas, UNC 74-76-78--228 + 12
36. Marci Turner, Tennessee 77-77-74--228 + 12
36. Daphne Vines, BYU 75-77-76--228 + 12
42. Camille Blackerby, TCU 76-79-74--229 + 13
42. Jean Chua, Wake Forest 76-74-79--229 + 13
42. Mandi McConnell, Mich. St. 74-76-79--229 + 13
42. Sydnee Michaels, UCLA 77-76-76--229 + 13
42. Belen Mozo, USC 75-80-74--229 + 13
42. Rachel Newren, BYU 77-71-81--229 + 13
42. Kristen Svicarovich, Vanderbilt 76-75-78--229 + 13
49. Elin Emanuelsson, TCU 78-77-75--230 + 14
49. Pernilla Lindberg, Okla. St. 77-78-75--230 + 14
49. y-Pamela Ontiveros, Oral Roberts 77-75-78--230 + 14
49. Garrett Phillips, Georgia 78-76-76--230 + 14
49. Adriana Zwanck, Arizona 75-77-78--230 + 14
54. Leanne Bowditch, Pepperdine 78-74-79--231 + 15
54. Jodi Ewart, New Mexico 76-76-79--231 + 15
54. y-Kay Hoey, LBSU 79-77-75--231 + 15
54. Alina Lee, Georgia 80-75-76--231 + 15
54. Marisa Milligan, Auburn 75-79-77--231 + 15
54. Azahara Munoz, ASU 78-76-77--231 + 15
54. Juliana Murcia, ASU 76-78-77--231 + 15
54. Angela Oh, Tennessee 74-76-81--231 + 15
54. Adrienne White, Louisville 75-77-79--231 + 15
63. Nicole Hage, Auburn 78-77-77--232 + 16
63. Liebelei Lawrence, Vanderbilt 77-80-75--232 + 16
63. Jennifer Osborn, ASU 78-74-80--232 + 16
63. Heather Rose, Mich. St. 81-76-75--232 + 16
63. Maiya Tanaka, UCLA 79-79-74--232 + 16
68. Ashley Childers, BYU 78-78-77--233 + 17
68. Laura Crawford, Wake Forest 79-75-79--233 + 17
68. Emily Hoeper, Denver 72-83-78--233 + 17
68. Catalina Marin, USC 77-76-80--233 + 17
68. Jenny Suh, Alabama 77-79-77--233 + 17
73. Sarah Bradley, Okla. St. 80-73-81--234 + 18
73. Veronica Felibert, USC 71-81-82--234 + 18
73. Lauren Hunt, UNC 74-78-82--234 + 18
73. Dewi Schreefel, USC 76-78-80--234 + 18
73. Alison Walshe, Arizona 77-81-76--234 + 18
78. Helena Blomberg, Alabama 81-78-76--235 + 19
78. Patty Chawalitmetha, UCI 76-79-80--235 + 19
78. Giselle Claux, New Mexico 74-81-80--235 + 19
78. Brooke Goodwin, Vanderbilt 80-78-77--235 + 19
78. Mallorie Underwood, Okla. St. 82-75-78--235 + 19
83. Diana Cantu, Tennessee 79-81-76--236 + 20
83. Sara Djos, Denver 77-79-80--236 + 20
83. y-Kelly Nakashima, Idaho 80-78-78--236 + 20
83. Alexandra Phelps, New Mexico 78-77-81--236 + 20
87. Sydney Crane, UNC 74-83-80--237 + 21
87. Valentine Derrey, TCU 86-74-77--237 + 21
87. Amanda Johnson, Okla. St. 80-77-80--237 + 21
87. Angela King, Stanford 80-77-80--237 + 21
87. Kim Lorenzana, UCI 79-77-81--237 + 21
87. Katie Miller, UNC 75-87-75--237 + 21
93. Py Bengtsson, New Mexico 77-81-80--238 + 22
93. Anita Gahir, Indiana 81-79-78--238 + 22
93. Nicole Smith, Tennessee 81-79-78--238 + 22
96. Katie Kempter, Denver 83-78-78--239 + 23
96. Rhea Nair, Alabama 75-83-81--239 + 23
96. Abigale Schepperle, Auburn 82-80-77--239 + 23
96. Catherina Wang, Stanford 76-77-86--239 + 23
100. Jane Chin, UCI 83-78-79--240 + 24
100. Ann Laney, UNC 78-84-78--240 + 24
100. Dawn Shockley, Denver 77-84-79--240 + 24
103. Megan O'Donnell, TCU 81-77-83--241 + 25
104. Mallory Hetzel, Georgia 75-82-85--242 + 26
104. Danielle von Arnim, BYU 79-82-81--242 + 26
106. Kellye Belcher, Indiana 84-75-84--243 + 27
106. Sara Brown, Mich. St. 78-82-83--243 + 27
108. Holly Cantwell, Tennessee 82-82-80--244 + 28
109. Brittany Benvenuto, Arizona 82-85-78--245 + 29
109. Lauren Harling, Indiana 80-85-80--245 + 29
109. Laura Nochta, Indiana 79-85-81--245 + 29
109. Stephanie Oukeo, Purdue 83-84-78--245 + 29
113. Juli Erekson, BYU 79-80-87--246 + 30
113. Elaine Harris, Indiana 80-79-87--246 + 30
115. Lindsay Anderson, ASU 83-84-80--247 + 31
116. Mikaela Backstedt, New Mexico 83-80-85--248 + 32
116. Laura Goodwin, Alabama 81-82-85--248 + 32
116. Maggie Simons, Wake Forest 87-80-81--248 + 32
119. Henna Cho, UCI 79-84-86--249 + 33
119. Holly Niederkohr, Mich. St. 84-83-82--249 + 33
121. Nicole Montgomery, Pepperdine 77-85-88--250 + 34
122. Sarah Sturm, Alabama 86-80-86--252 + 36
123. Cristina Gonzalez, Louisville 84-82-87--253 + 37
WD. Jayvie Agojo, Pepperdine WD-74-76
WD. Stephanie Sherlock, Denver 76-WD-76
WD. y-Lene Krog, East Carolina 84-79-WD