May 18, 2002

2002 NCAA Championship
May 21-24, 2002
Auburn, Washington * Washington National Golf Club
72 Hole Medal Play * 18 Holes Each Day

DUKE TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The top-ranked Duke women's golf team will travel to Auburn, Washington, on May 21-24 to compete in the NCAA Championship at the Par 72, 6,273-yard Washington National Golf Club. The Blue Devils will tee off on Tuesday, May 21, beginning at 3:20 and going through 4:00 PM (EST) along with Tulsa and UCLA.

Competing for the championship will be Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, California, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern California, Stanford, Texas, Tulsa, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Washington.

Last season, the Blue Devils finished second in the NCAA Championship as Georgia came from behind to take the title in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. (ranking listed above by Golf World).

NOTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Heading into the NCAA Championship, the Blue Devils have won their past six tournaments in a row and are the hottest team in the nation. In five of the six victories, Duke has recorded scores in the 870's or lower. At the East Regional Duke shot an 859, at the ACC Championship an 866, at the Bryan National Collegiate an 870, at the Lady Gamecock Classic an 874 and at the Wildcat Invitational an 876.

Overall, the Blue Devils have won seven tournaments this season and have posted five individual medallist winners-- Leigh Anne Hardin at the NCAA East Regional, Candy Hannemann at the ACC Championship, Virada Nirapathpongporn at the Bryan National Collegiate, Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh at the Lady Gamecock Classic and Kristina Engstrom at the Franklin Street Trust/Tar Heel Invitational.

Four of Duke's five golfers playing this week have scored in the 60s during the season. The Blue Devils regained the top spot in the latest Golf World rankings on May 3. It marks the first time Duke has been ranked No. 1 since the preseason.

BLUE DEVILS IN THE NCAA'S
Duke is making the program's 15th trip to the NCAA Championship. Of the previous 14 NCAA Championship appearances for the Blue Devils, Duke has finished in the top 10 eight times. The Blue Devils earned a fourth-place spot in 1994 and 1998, the best finishes for a Blue Devil team prior to the first place finish in 1999. Duke turned in a second place finish last season.

The Blue Devils boast four players in the lineup with NCAA Championship experience. Candy Hannemann is making her fourth consecutive appearance and owns a first and second overall finish under her belt. In 1999, Hannemann finished second overall after firing consecutive rounds of 71-72-70=213 to lead Duke to the national title. Last season, Hannemann defeated Lorena Ochoa on the first playoff hole to take the individual title with rounds of 75-72-69-69=285.

Sophomore Kristina Engstrom finished in tied for 77th as a freshman (81-77-74-79=311) and tied for 60th last season (77-72-78-79=306). Sophomore Virada Nirapathpongporn finished tied for 13th last season (72-73-74-75=294) and sophomore Leigh Anne Hardin finished tied for 35th last year (75-76-72-78=301).

THE HEAD COACH
Dan Brooks is in his 18th season as the head coach of the Blue Devils. The 1981 graduate of Oregon State has led Duke to 13 NCAA Tournaments during his coaching career, including eight of the last nine years and the school's first National Championship in 1999.

Brooks' teams have finished with a top 20 ranking 15 times (looking for the 16th this season), while seven of his squads have earned a top 10 finish in an NCAA Tournament (1987 tied for seventh, 1988 finished fifth, 1994 finished fourth, 1996 finished tied for seventh, 1998 finished fourth, 1999 finished first, 2001 finished second). In 18 years, his teams have won 63 tournaments. He was named the 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 ACC Coach of the Year for his efforts and 1999 and 2001 National Coach of the Year. Duke has collected 10 ACC Championships during Brooks' term with the program.

THE LINEUP
Duke's lineup traveling to the NCAA Championship this weekend are all ranked in the top 54 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Sophomore Virada Nirapathpongporn is sixth, senior Candy Hannemann is 12th, sophomore Leigh Anne Hardin is 25th, freshman Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh is 36th and junior Kristina Engstrom is 54th.

Nirapathpongporn has been red hot in the spring, posting a 72.67 stroke average with six top-eight finishes in six tournaments. She picked up the victory at the Bryan National Collegiate as she recorded a five-under-par score of 211, which included a record-tying round of 65 on the first day. She has posted 10 rounds of even or under par in the spring to lead Duke. Nirapathpongporn also turned in a tied for second place finish as the ACC Championship and in two years has finished first and tied for second in the championship.

Hannemann missed the fall due to ankle surgery after injuring it in the U.S. Amateur. She had surgery in September and has come back strong in the spring with a 73.61 stroke average. In her last three tournaments prior to the East Regional, Hannemann has posted a first, second and third place finish with a 72.67 stroke average. She became Duke's ninth ACC individual champion at the ACC Championship.

Coming off her best career tournament, Hardin took individual honors at the NCAA East Regional with a three-day total of 210. She registered three consecutive rounds of even or under par to notch the victory. On the season, she has posted three top five, five top 10 and seven top 20 finishes with a 74.97 stroke average.

Engstrom is coming off her best finish of the season with a 218 at the regional. She fired rounds of 74-70-74 in the tournament. On the season she has posted a 775.97 stroke average with five top 20 finishes. In the spring, Engstrom registered a 75.28 stroke average. Aazam-Zanganeh is Duke's lone freshman on the squad. She came out in the fall with a 76.64 stroke average and two top 10 finishes. In the spring, she has registered a 74.67 stroke average and picked up her first collegiate victory at the Lady Gamecock Classic with a 215.

ALL-ACC BLUE DEVILS
The top-ranked Duke women's golf team registered four individuals on the 2002 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Golf team as selected by a vote of the league's six head coaches. Senior Candy Hannemann (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), sophomore Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand), sophomore Leigh Anne Hardin (Martinsville, Ind.) and freshman Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh (Lausanne, Switzerland) each were named All-ACC.

As well as the All-ACC honors, Duke's Nirapathpongporn received ACC Player of the Year honors and Aazam-Zanganeh earned ACC Rookie of the Year. N.C. State's Page Marsh received ACC Coach of the Year accolades.

Hannemann becomes only the third player in ACC history to be selected All-ACC four consecutive years- Jenny Chuasiriporn (Duke) and Stephanie Neill (Wake Forest). Nirapathpongporn became the sixth consecutive Blue Devil to earn ACC Player of the Year honors after registering a 73.65 stroke average in nine tournaments.

Also receiving All-ACC honors for the second year in a row is Hardin. Aazam-Zanganeh became the sixth ACC Rookie of the Year selection from Duke, after participating in all nine tournaments with a 75.54 stroke average.

BLUE DEVILS ROLL AT EAST REGIONAL
The Blue Devils extended their string of consecutive victories to six at the NCAA East Regional, winning by 13 strokes over Auburn. Duke was in fourth place after day one's 291, but came back strong in the second round with an eight-under-par round of 280.

Leading the charge on day two was sophomore Leigh Anne Hardin with a career-tying best 67. The round tied the women's record at the University Club course. The four counting scores for the Blue Devils were all par or lower and the 280 team score was one shy of a school record. Duke continued its stellar play in the final round, carding an even par round of 72 to finish with a season best 859. Hardin turned in a team-best three-day total of 210 to claim individual honors. Virada Nirapathpongporn finished in tied for seventh (217) and Kristina Engstrom tied for ninth (218).

HANNEMANN IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
In three years competing at the NCAA Championships, Duke senior Candy Hannemann has performed very well. As a freshman, she finished second, firing rounds of 71-72-70, and last season she turned in rounds of 75-72-69-69 to finish in tied for first. She went on to defeat Lorena Ochoa in a playoff.

As a sophomore, Hannemann struggled a little bit but still managed to fire a team-best 72 in the third round. Combining her freshman and junior years at the championships, she owns a 71.14 stroke average with even or under par rounds in six of the seven rounds.

INDIVIDUAL MEDALLIST
Duke now boasts all five players traveling to the NCAA Championships with individual medallist honors on the season. Of the 10 tournaments Duke has played in, a Blue Devil has come away with individual honors in half.

This shows what kind of depth Duke has on a squad that features one senior, one junior, two sophomores and one freshman traveling to Auburn, Wash.