Fantastic Final Round Gives Duke NCAA Title

By STEVE WILLIAMS

AUBURN, Wash. – When Duke won its first NCAA women’s championship in 1999, the Blue Devils were leading by nine shots when the fourth round was rained out, giving them the victory.

They were glad it played out over 72 holes this time around.

After trailing Arizona for the first three days, the Blue Devils used a fantastic finish to soar past the field for a six-shot victory at Washington National Golf Club May 21-24.

Led by individual champ Virada Nirapathpongporn and getting key contributions by four other members of a star-studded, deep team, Duke totaled a 12-over-par 1,164 to outdistance Arizona, Auburn and Texas, which shared second at 1,170.

 "It was always close and it felt like most of the time it was close but we were down,” said Duke coach Dan Brooks. “That's why it was such a neat win because we felt like we were down so much and that we were having to come up with something or somebody was going to have to mess up on the other team."

Arizona helped bring about its own demise by stumbling to a final round 296, but Duke didn’t back into the championship. Senior Candy Hannemann, the only remaining player from 1999 championship team, made birdies at 16 and 17, sophomores Nirapathpongporn and Leigh Anne Hardin also birdied 17 and freshman Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh added a birdie at 18.

Duke gained nine shots on the field over those last three holes and ended with 287, its best score of the tournament after posting 294, 293 and 290 the first three days.

"We all knew we had to finish strong and knew we could do it,” said Hannemann after a final-round 68. "Every victory's different. The fact that this is my last tournament as an amateur makes it all a bit sweeter."

Hannemann, who turned pro in June and has started playing on the Futures Golf Tour, finished in a tie for 22nd at 293, one year after claiming the national title in a playoff win over Arizona superstar Lorena Ochoa.

This year it was Nirapathpongporn. She led from start to finish by shooting 68-69-70-72 – 279, five shots better than the quartet of Ochoa, Auburn junior Danielle Downey, Georgia junior Summer Sirmons and Pepperdine junior Lindsey Wright.

It was just the third time in NCAA history that teammates won back-to-back titles.

Nirapathpongporn coped with the pressure of playing for the individual crown by thinking team goals first.

“I just kept telling myself, ‘The rest of the holes, you're going to have to keep playing hard because it might come down to a shot or two. Keep playing because the team title is what we ultimately want.’ We worked hard all year and I was happy to finish this off."

Brooks heaped praise upon his sophomore star.

“She's got a lot of poise,” he said. “She appreciates everything that's going on and I think that allows her to keep things in perspective. She's a real team player, always pulling for the team. She just has a way about her. If she's had a rough day you could never tell it, that's the way she carries herself."

Brooks said he had confidence in Hannemann even though she was off her form in the first three rounds, shooting 75-78-72.

"There is no way that Candy wasn't going to show up in full form sometime during this tournament,” he said.  “She's done it too many times when it has mattered a lot. I think she just picked a wonderful time to show up with her game.”

Hardin, who has been named to play for the U.S. in the Curtis Cup competition Aug. 3-4 in Pittsburgh, was Duke’s number two finisher with a tie for 13th at 291 (76-72-71-72).

Aazam-Zanganeh tied for 75th at 304 (75-77-77-75) and although junior Kristina Engstrom didn’t have a great week her second-round 75 was crucial. She finished tied for 116th at 318.

Wake Forest made the NCAAs and tied for 22nd as a team with 1,206 (298-305-302-301).

Wake coach Dianne Dailey was disappointed with the Deacons’ scores especially after they had played so well in the regional.

“We’re disappointed in how we played. We just couldn’t get anything going,” she said. “There was tough competition and the scores were low, but I think the students learned a lot. It’s good to be back in the NCAAs. I was real happy how we played all year long, especially in the regional and am looking forward to next year.”

The Deacons had finished third in the East Regional behind Duke and Auburn, shooting the lowest team tournament score in WFU history with 875 (293-288-294).

Junior Nuria Clau led the Deacons in the NCAA Tourney with a tie for 31st at 296 (71-75-76-74).