Sophomore Stephanie Sparks fell just short of the individual crown, but nothing could stop Duke from snatching the team title from defending champion North Carolina at this weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Golf Tournament.
The Blue Devils struggled on the final day of the tournament with a 315, but the team's solid first two rounds enabled Duke to come away the championship and a 920 team total, three strokes better than Carolina's 923.
In round one, Sparks lit up the Bryan Park Championship Course in Greensboro, to post her best score of the year, a 4-under 68. Sparks nailed six birdies on the day, including a string of four straight to open the back nine en route to an early and seemingly insurmountable four-stroke lead. It looked like Sparks would blow by the distant competition.
But Sparks' 68 would be her only sub-par performance of the tournament. Her second round score of 74 was enough to maintain the lead, but allowed Wake Forest sophomore Stephanie Neill's pair of 72s to bring the Demon Deacon within two strokes.
While all the golfers enjoyed relatively good course conditions during the first two days of play, the final round brought stronger winds which made it a lot tougher to negotiate the abundant water hazards. The wind compounded Sparks' worries about relinquishing her two-stroke lead, and she was a little shaken-up entering the final round.
"I think I started playing too much against my opponent [Neill] and not against the course," Sparks said.
And her concerns were well-justified as she knocked her second shot on the first hole into the water. Entering the back nine, Sparks' lead had completely vanished, and the entire tournament rested on the next nine holes.
"[Although I had given up my lead], I was still kind of optimistic because I knew I wasn't hitting the ball badly," Sparks said.
The tide quickly turned back in Sparks' favor as her birdie on the 10th hole, coupled with Neill's bogey, put her back up by two. But the next few holes would be a nightmare for Sparks as she witnessed her two-stroke lead turn into a two-stroke deficit.
Sparks landed another shot in the water and scored a bogey and double-bogey before finding herself behind by two strokes with just three holes to go.
But now back as the aggressor, Sparks responded, knocking down birdies on 16 and 17 to tie the score entering the final hole of the tournament.
"I truly thought I was going to win it, standing on the 18th tee," Sparks said. "I knew it would come down to the last few putts."
Sparks' prediction was accurate, but it was Neill who sunk a 35-footer to steal the title.
"It was kind of difficult to deal with," Sparks said. "[Her shot] just kind of took the wind out of my sails."
Still, it was Sparks' sails that fueled the Blue Devils in their quest for the ACC team crown. Sparks led Duke with her three-day total of 221 and was named to the All-ACC team. Junior Tonya Blosser turned in another excellent performance to tie for fourth with 228, and freshman Kathi Poppmeier was the third Blue Devil to place in the top 10, firing a 233 for her eighth-place finish.
Duke showed some depth as the team's fourth best golfer, freshman Jamie Koizumi posted a 239 to tie for 12th, and Pam Soliman rounded out the squad with a 246.
"We needed to play aggressive with our attitude and conservative with our shots," head coach Dan Brooks said. "The only mistakes I saw were when we got away from that mindset."
While Brooks got the team focused, the Blue Devils started to realize that having already played in three rainy tournaments this spring gave them a distinct advantage. While their opponents worried about the possible effects of bad weather, the Duke players had begun to expect it.
"With the conditions we've played in, nothing really phased us," Sparks said.
Without having to worry about the weather, the Blue Devils concentrated on staying patient and keeping the right frame of mind. Duke's strategy paid off as the team finished the first round with a three-stroke lead.
But now, after playing four tournaments in four weeks, Duke has a month-long layoff before the NCAA Regional Championships in mid-May. After a shaky start to the spring season, the Blue Devils have just begun to regain their consistency after being ranked No. 2 in the nation during the fall.
"I'm not sure [the layoff] will effect us because the individuals on our team are all motivated within themselves," Sparks said. "We've been able to face many difficult situations, and we will bounce back."
But Sparks herself has one other thing to think about -- the possibility of facing Neill in another "Battle of the Stephanie's." Neill and Sparks are both just sophomores. But they have seen plenty of each other on the golf course already, and their next meeting has just been scheduled for the NCAA Regionals.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.