Although the Blue Devils struggled in their most recent start, history will be on their side as they attempt to qualify for the NCAA championship.
No. 5 Duke will tee it up as the top seed in the Baton Rouge, La., NCAA regional Thursday through Saturday looking to qualify for the national championship for the 21st time in the last 23 years. The Blue Devils will attempt to punch their ticket to the NCAA championship May 20-25 in Eugene, Ore., by placing among the top six teams in the 18-team field at the University Club, which has been kind to head coach Dan Brooks' squad in the past 15 years.
Both times Duke previously competed on the par-72 layout in NCAA regional action—in 2002 and 2007—the Blue Devils left with a first-place trophy and went on to win the national championship. This year's Duke team also posted its most recent win on the course at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic March 20-22, when the team posted a 16-stroke victory thanks to a dominant performance from senior Celine Boutier.
After posting rounds of 67, 72 and 69, Boutier cruised to her first victory since she was the National Player of the Year in 2014 by a program-record 14-stroke margin.
The Montrouge, France, native has struggled since her victory—finishing outside the top 30 in her two starts since—but Brooks said he is impressed with Boutier's perseverance despite not playing her best golf.
“You can see that in March she was playing as well as anybody in the country—she was beating most everybody in the country—and then she’s had some rounds where its gotten away from her,” Brooks said. “She has really risen to these challenges, and so I know she’s going to go on the golf course and be composed and play one shot at a time, and that’s all you can do.”
Duke will arrive in Baton Rouge looking to bounce back from a disappointing week after failing to take home the ACC title April 15-17. Brooks’ squad placed third and finished 28 strokes behind champion Virginia, which successfully defended its conference title in Greensboro, N.C.
Freshman Virginia Elena Carta created the one-two punch alongside Boutier during March’s win in Baton Rouge and carries plenty of momentum into this week’s event. Since a season-best tie for second place at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic, Elena Carta has notched finished in the top 10 in her last two starts. The stretch of three straight top-10 finishes marks her best of the season and the Udine, Italy, native will tee off Thursday having shot one over par in her last 44 holes at the University Club.
“She’s a real learner,” Brooks said. “A big part of getting better is to learn about yourself and how to get yourself in exactly the right frame of mind to play your best and to get yourself settled down, get your emotions under control and get your rhythm down.”
Brooks also said Elena Carta recently learned she has a stress fracture in her right leg and that even though the injury does not cause pain during her swing, he will be monitoring her condition closely to ensure she is healthy enough to walk 54 holes during the three-day event and still be available to play in the national championship if the Blue Devils qualify.
The David Toms and Jim Lipe design was the most difficult course Duke faced during the regular season—boasting a 78.99 scoring average at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic—and Brooks said after Wednesday’s practice rounds that the course appeared to be in a similar condition this week.
Duke is not the only team with recent course experience to draw upon, as fellow regional competitors N.C. State, Houston, LSU and Denver also played at the University Club in March. In addition to the Blue Devils, five other top-25 teams will tee off this week in Baton Rouge.
Duke's scoring average leader, sophomore Leona Maguire, will strive to return to top form this week after struggling with her ball striking during the ACC championship, where she tied for 10th. The Cavan, Ireland native was the individual champion at last season’s NCAA regional in South Bend, Ind., and will look to lead the Blue Devils to their 10th regional title in program history this week.
“She has been working on a couple of very minor things, very minor, and has put in some good time on those. She hit the ball really well [Wednesday] in the practice round, and I think she feels good about the minor adjustments that she’s made,” Brooks said.
Junior Sandy Choi and sophomore Gurbani Singh both tied for 14th place during their last trip to the University Club and bring a combined three years of NCAA regional experience to this week’s event. Choi put her reliability and consistency on display at the ACC championship by carding three straight rounds of 74, and Singh returns to the lineup after being replaced by Lisa Maguire for the ACC championship.
Although the regional coincides with his players' final exam week, Brooks said he is optimistic about his team’s ability to contend and said he admired the initiative the Blue Devils displayed in balancing their studies with preparation for their penultimate postseason test.
“I saw a team that really scrambled to get out and stay on top of their games and we had a good practice round [Wednesday], so it all looks pretty good to me,” Brooks said. “We’re ready to play. We’re ready to get out there and put it to work.”
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