Sept. 25, 2009

Blue Devils Place 10th In NGCA Match Play Qualifying

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After 36 holes of qualifying at the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Match Play Qualifying, the No. 10 ranked Duke women's golf team placed 10th on Sunday at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Leading the way for the Blue Devils was freshman Lindy Duncan, who finished tied for eighth individually with rounds of 73 and 72 for a 145. In the first round, Duncan totaled one birdie, two bogeys and 15 pars on her way to a 73. This afternoon Duncan started off with three pars before suffering a bogey and double-bogey on back-to-back holes. She closed strong as she played the final 13 holes at three-under-par to finish even par.

In the team standings, Florida finished first with a two-round total of 285 with South Carolina (586), Auburn (590), LSU (590), Georgia (592), Alabama (600), Virginia (601), UT Chattanooga (602), Kent State (603) and Duke (606) rounding out the top 10.

Blue Devils Down Kent St. at the NGCA Match Play

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Duke women's golf team closed out play at the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Match Play Championship on Tuesday with a 4-1 victory over ninth-seeded Kent State at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Blue Devils finished off the three-day event with victories over Kent State (4-1) and Colorado (5-0), while totaling a loss to TCU (3-2). Duke's 2-1 record in match play was the tied for third-best ledger in the two days. The Blue Devils also notched an 11-4 individual record in match play which was better than any of the other 15 teams competing.

On Tuesday, Duke started off slow as Kent State led in four of the five matches, but the Blue Devils quickly turned it around at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Freshman Lindy Duncan represented the Blue Devils at the first slot against Sarah Bradley. A product of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Duncan lost the second hole with a bogey on the par five 14th, but responded with a birdie on the next hole to bring the match back to all square.

Carolina Golfers Tied For 11th At NGCA Collegiate Championship

The North Carolina women's golf team opened its 2009-10 season Sunday and tied for 11th place in the medal play qualifier of the NGCA Collegiate Match Play Championship. The Tar Heels, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Jan Mann, were led by sophomore Catherine O'Donnell who fired rounds of 305-302 for a 607 total.

O'Donnell fired an even par 144 total after scoring two rounds of even par 72. The Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., native tied for third place in the 36-hole medal play qualifier. Tar Heel freshman Courtney Gunter, from Matthews, N.C., tied for 29th place after firing rounds of 75-76 for a 151 total.

Florida topped the field of 16 teams with a nine-over-par 585 total after firing rounds of 293-292. The Gators will be seeded #1 headed into the match-play portion of the event. South Carolina will be seeded #2 as the Gamecocks finished one stroke behind Florida at 10-over 586. Auburn and LSU tied for third at 590 while Georgia placed fifth in the medal qualifier at 592.

Tar Heels Finish Match Play at NGCA

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - The North Carolina women's golf team concluded match play at the National Golf Coaches Association Collegiate Match Play Championship on Tuesday with an unfortunate finish. Even though the Tar Heels were tied two matches apiece against Ole Miss with a tied match on the line, Carolina was overtaken by the Rebels based on a scoring technicality.

Junior transfer Sarah Thead and freshman Courtney Gunter both won their matches by two-hole leads. Thead beat Ashley Lance with one hole left and Gunter beat Haley Sanders on the final hole. Both Thead and Gunter's rounds were marked by a battle of taking the lead, to losing the lead, to taking it back to win the matches.

Sophomore Catherine O'Donnell struggled on the day despite an impressive showing throughout the tournament. O'Donnell continually bogeyed during her match against Sara Grantham to lose it by four holes with three left to play. Junior Margaret Pentrack lost her match to Haley Millsap by three holes after 16 holes played.

UVa Places 7th in Stroke Play at Match Play Championship

Daytona Beach, FL - The No. 9 Virginia women's golf team advanced to the championship bracket at the National Golf Coaches Association's Match Play Championships after finishing seventh in the 16-team field after 36 holes of stroke play Sunday. The Cavaliers shot rounds of 16-over 304 and 9-over 297 for a two-round total of 601.

The top eight teams from stroke play will compete in the match play tournament's championship bracket starting Monday. Virginia will be paired against South Carolina in its first 18-hole match play competition. The winner will face off against the winner of the Alabama-Auburn match. Two rounds of match play are slated for Monday and the championship rounds will take place Tuesday.

The other teams finishing in the top eight of stroke play and advancing to the championships bracket are Florida (585), South Carolina (586), Auburn (590), LSU (590), Georgia (592), Alabama (600) and UT Chattanooga (602).

Cavaliers Roll Over Florida to Finish Third at Match Play Championships

Daytona Beach, FL - The Virginia women's golf team defeated Florida 4-1 to claim third place at the National Golf Coaches Association's Match Play Championships held in Daytona Beach. The Cavaliers went undefeated during their three match play events, but did not qualify for the championship final after losing a tiebreaker with Auburn in their semifinal event that ended in a draw.

Tuesday Calle Nielson led the Cavaliers with a 7 and 6 win against the Gators' Amelia Lewis. Whitney Neuhauser downed Marika Lendl 2 and 1, Nicole Agnello dropped Andrea Watts 1 up and Eleana Collins defeated Mia Piccio 2 up to round out the Virginia victories. Florida's lone point came when Evan Jensen defeated UVa's Brittany Altomare 4 and 3.

Nielson won all three of her match play showdowns while Neuhauser and Agnello picked up victories in two of three events.

Seminoles In 2nd Place at the Cougar Fall Classic

HANAHAN, S.C. - Senior Lacey Agnew is in first place in the individual standings after she tied the school record with a career-low score of 65 in the second round and the Seminole women's golf team is in a tie for second place after the first two rounds the Cougar Fall Classic at Yeamans Hall Golf Course.

Agnew begins play in the second and final round of the event two strokes ahead of Georgia's Marta Silva Zamora in the race for the first individual championship of her career while Florida State is 12 strokes behind Georgia in the race for the team championship. The event is the first of the fall season for the Seminoles.

Georgia, with three players in the top 10 and four in the top 12 of the individual standings, is in first place in the individual standings. The Bulldogs came within one stroke of setting a tournament record for a single round with a team total of 280 in the first round. The Seminoles are tied for second with Furman in the team standings.

Carolina Golfers Finish Third At Duramed Cougar Classic

The North Carolina women's golf team fired a three-over-par 291 for a five-over 869 total to finish in third place at the Duramed Cougar Classic. The Tar Heels were led by sophomore Catherine O'Donnell who carded a two-under 214 total to finish tied for seventh in the individual race.

O'Donnell, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., fired a one-over 73 in the final round after earlier rounds of 69-72. Two other Tar Heels posted top-25 finishes - Kate Thomas tied for 16th place and Margaret Pentrack tied for 25th. Thomas, a senior from Murwillumbah, Australia, finished at two-over 218 after posting a 75 on Monday.

Georgia captured the team title over the 18-team field. The Bulldogs fired a one-under 287 to finish with a 14-under 850 total, seven strokes ahead of Florida State which finished at seven-under 857 after firing a six-under 282 in the final round. The Tar Heels finished third at five-over 869, three strokes ahead of Tennessee which finished fourth at 872.

Hollandsworth Leads Terps to Ninth-Place Finish at Cougar Classic

HANAHAN, S.C. - Sophomore Jessica Hollandsworth shot a 2-under-par 70 Monday afternoon in the final round of the Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Golf Club to finish in a fifth-place tie in the individual standings and lead the University of Maryland women's golf team to a ninth-place team finish.

Hollandsworth finished only a stroke shy of third place, shooting 213 with rounds of 73, 70 and 70. The Terrapins shot 887 (300-292-295) as a team over three rounds.

Freshman Christine Shimel had a solid opening tournament for her collegiate debut, finishing with a 5-over-par 221 to place in the top 30.

Hurricanes Finish Season opener at Duramed Cougar Classic

The University of Miami women's golf team finished 16th at the Duramed Cougar Classic, led by a final round two-over 74 from junior Maria Ronderos.

Georgia won the event posting a team total 14-under 850 for the three day event. Florida State (857) finished in second, with North Carolina (869), Tennessee (872) and Furman (873) rounding out the top five.

Ronderos followed up her one-over 73 in the second round with more solid play Monday, making just four bogeys and two birdies, while shooting even par on the back nine. Ronderos finished tied for 34th.

Women's Golf Places 11th at Cougar Classic

HANAHAN, S.C. - The NC State women's golf team finished 11th at the season-opening Duramed Cougar Classic at Yeaman's Hall Golf Club.

Playing in her first tournament at NC State, Brooke Baker, a junior transfer from Tulsa, led the Wolfpack by tying for 25th at (+4) 71-74-75=220. In today's final round she came up with four birdies and nine pars to highlight her effort.

Senior Emily Street moved up 13 places on the field after a one-over 73 today. She finished the 54-hole event tied for 39th at +8 (79-72-73=224). The Forest City, N.C., native had a second-straight steady round with three birdies and four bogeys.

Boston College Finishes Second at Dartmouth College Invitational

Terps Finish Third at Cardinal Cup

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. - The University of Maryland women's golf team finished third at the Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup at Cardinal Club Golf Course hosted by Louisville Tuesday afternoon, finishing only one shot behind Kentucky for second place.

Maryland and Kentucky were tied for second after Monday's first two rounds, but the Wildcats were one shot better than the Terps in Tuesday's final round of 18. The Terps finished 35 over par with rounds of 303, 290 and 306.

Kerri Connolly paced the Terps, finishing in a tie for 11th place, shooting an 8-over-par 224 (73-74-77). Freshman Christine Shimel finished one shot back of Connolly to tie for 15th place with rounds of 75, 73 and 77.