For the fourth time in five years, the women's golf team is back in a familiar place--the NCAA championships. The Blue Devils finished third in the NCAA East Regionals, held at the Quail Ridge Golf Course in Memphis, Tenn., on May 11-13.
Nineteen teams competed in the regional--the top seven advanced to the NCAA championship. Atlantic Coast Conference champion Wake Forest garnered tournament honors, shooting 890. The Demon Deacons were followed by Furman with an 897, and the Blue Devils gained third place with a 900.
"I can't be upset," head coach Dan Brooks said of his team's performance. "It's just kind of a mixed feeling because we like to win. We were only five shots out after two days. So you can't really be too overjoyed about that--we ended up third instead of winning."
No. 10 Duke headed to Memphis to prepare for the tournament shortly after finals, so the players had plenty of time to get ready for the regionals. That extra practice and time paid off as Duke opened with a 294. Freshman Alicia Allison scored a team-leading 72, and the other Blue Devil players followed close behind.
"I wanted the team to feel totally, completely prepared--mentally ready to play on that first day," Brooks said. "In several of our tournaments we've dug ourselves into a bit of a hole that first day. We were able to get off to a good start with a great first day. I was very pleased with the 294."
Even with a second-round score of 301, the Blue Devils still found themselves within reach of a first-place finish. Duke remained only five strokes behind second-round leader Furman.
On Saturday, the weather became more of a factor in the tournament. Threats of rain and thunderstorms loomed, and the windy conditions raised the scores of most teams in the tournament.
"The third day was the worst weather day," Brooks said. "I wasn't unhappy about [the 305 on the final day]. We faltered a little bit, but you're going to have a high day and a low day in a tournament. Across the board, there isn't one day in the tournament that I'm unhappy about."
Junior Katharina Poppmeier was the team's leading scorer and placed sixth individually. Allison followed two strokes behind to place seventh.
"I'm obviously going to feel good about Kathi and Alicia," Brooks said. "But I think the pivotal person in this tournament was [junior] Jamie Koizumi. She came in with two very, very solid rounds the last two days. She shot 76 on the last day--she got down early but remained at four over par for the whole day. It's hard to do--you're kind of holding on for the team."
The Quail Ridge course is just a little over a year old, and this contributed to some difficulties for many of the players. Ditches could be seen all over the course and countless rough spots marred the fairways.
"I thought the key to us doing well was how patient the players stayed," Brooks said. "We didn't get really good lies and hazards came up close to the green. There was a lot of visual distraction out there, for whatever reason.
"I just thought they were very good at staying focused and staying patient with some of the rough stuff. It was not a manicured golf course by any stretch."
The team travels to Wilmington for the championships on May 24-29. Although the West has stronger women's golf than the East--the team has the potential to show that it is one of the top teams in the nation.
"I think this team should be thinking hard about bringing a trophy home," Brooks said. "There are four [trophy] spots--there are some strong teams out there. I think if we play our very best golf, that there's a possibility of winning it. But I think if we just play a solid tournament, then I think we can take a trophy home. I think we're definitely a top four or five team."
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