May 25, 2002

AUBURN, WASH. - Just a few hours after the Duke women's golf team took home its second National Championship at the Washington National Golf Club on Friday, the Blue Devils headed to Emerald Downs in Auburn, Wash. for the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) annual banquet.

At the banquet, Duke's Virada Nirapathpongporn, Candy Hannemann and Leigh Anne Hardin all claimed All-America honors. For the second consecutive year, Nirapathpongporn earned first team accolades after guiding Duke to eight tournament victories and the National Championship. The sophomore registered the third-best season stroke average in school history with a 73.06 mark. The Bangkok, Thailand product posted a NCAA Championship tying four-day total of 279 to claim individual medallist honors at the championship.

Nirapathpongporn is quickly rewriting the Duke record books as the sophomore now owns the top 18 (65), 36 (137), 54 (207) and 72-hole (279) scores in Blue Devil history. She has notched 13 top 10 finishes in two season along with five victories.

Both Hannemann and Hardin each were selected second team All-America. Hannemann's 73.55 stroke average this year as a senior was the seventh best in school history and received All-America honors for the second consecutive season . She leaves Duke with two National Championships, 33 team victories, five individual tournament victories, one NCAA Individual Championship, 23 top-10 finishes and with the top stroke average in school history of 72.88, which she had as a junior. Hannemann closed out her stellar career with a season-best 68 in the final round Friday.

Hardin received All-America honors for the first time in her two-year career, after the posting the 10th-best season stroke average in school history, 74.70. The sophomore from Martinsville, Ind., picked up individual medallist honors at the NCAA East Regional, had eight top 20 and five top 10 finishes on the season. Hardin came on strong in the final three rounds of the NCAA Championship with rounds of 72-71-72 to finish tied for 13th individually.

Both Hannemann and Nirapathpongporn also received NGCA Academic All-America honors on the evening after registering over a 3.4 grade-point-average. It marks the first time for each golfer earning Academic All-America, but Duke has had at least one golfer selected to the squad for the last five years in a row.

Duke returns five of the six letterwinners in 2002-03 and should be expected to contend for a third NCAA Championship.

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