Bad weather continues to haunt the women's golf team this spring.
After playing in two rain-soaked tournaments in March, the Blue Devils were hoping for sunshine as they headed to Shelby, N.C. for the Woodbridge Intercollegiate Golf Tournament. But Duke had to endure yet another wet golf course as it captured fourth place in a field of nine teams.
After finishing the fall season ranked No. 2 in the country, the Blue Devils would have been disappointed with a fourth-place finish in any tournament. But this was one of the strongest fields Duke has faced, with four of the nine teams having been ranked in the nation's top five this year.
The Blue Devils got off to a slow start, having to play the ball down in rough fairways on a course full of water. After averaging just over 301 strokes per round in the fall season, the team needed nearly 20 strokes above its average to finish each of the first two rounds. But Duke rebounded in the final day of the tournament to shoot 302, second only to Texas, who won the tournament with it's final-round score of 301.
Sophomore Stephanie Sparks, the Blue Devils most consistent golfer all season, continued to lead Duke with her 79-74-71--224 performance to tie for fourth place among individuals. Sparks has led Duke in each of its three tournaments this spring and has finished among the top five golfers every time. But even she got off to a shaky start with a 79 before taking advantage of the excellent weather in round three for her strong finish.
"We had high expectations and bad weather," head coach Dan Brooks said. "I was happy to see [everyone] improve and do well on the last day because its always nice to leave a tournament on a positive note."
Freshman Kathi Poppmeier was Duke's second best golfer of the tournament, shooting 79-82-74--235. Not far behind was junior Tonya Blosser who finished with 79-81-79--239. Freshman Jamie Koizumi, 79-87-78--244, and senior Kim Cayce, 81-86-86--253, rounded out the lot with scores well above their averages.
"Based strictly on the scores, I'd say I was disappointed," Brooks said. "But I am not disappointed.
"[After working hard], the team hasn't been rewarded with scores, but we have a lot of golf left."
Although the scores the Blue Devils have posted early this spring have not been nearly as impressive as their fall performances, Duke showed signs of excellence in the final round of this weekend's tournament. Proving the team truly deserved its early No. 2 ranking has been a concern since the beginning of the year for the Blue Devils.
Brooks said the team has felt a lot of pressure to play near perfection in every tournament this spring and that has hindered the Blue Devils in regaining the confidence they need to play top-notch golf.
"We try not to build [the pressure] up," Brooks said. "We just can't make a big deal out of it because it's natural, and we have to deal with it."
But if the upward trend evident in this tournament continues, the Duke golfers will have the chance to remove any doubts from their minds at next weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.
"We honestly have several [possible] tournament winners," Brooks said. "I think we have a whole team of individuals that can win it.
"With golf it's just patience. You keep doing what you have to do, wait your turn, and it will come."
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