The women's golf team added more fuel to the fire this past weekend in its quest to become the nation's No. 1 team.
Playing in the inaugural Rolex National Intercollegiate Match Play Team Championships, the Blue Devils once again found themselves staring directly at the nation's best teams. Just as it did in the NCAA Fall Preview three weeks ago, Duke elevated its game to the level of the competition, finishing in fourth place overall.
"I look at it like we never lost," Blue Devil coach Dan Brooks said. "It was the entire team for three days playing other golfers head to head, trying to win. Everybody was in there. I was able to find out what each of the players would do in this type of situation. I thought they all rose to the occasion."
The tournament, which was played on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Private Course at PGA West, marked the first time in a number of years that a strictly match play scenario had been used in a collegiate tournament. The top eight teams in the collegiate golf rankings were paired against each other according to rank.
Duke, which was seeded fifth, opened against fourth-seeded Arizona State in Sunday's opening round. The Blue Devils were able halve their match with the Sun Devils behind wins from junior Alicia Allison and sophomore Filippa Hansson. However, due to a tie break system which factored in the winning margin for each individual match, Duke lost seven to five.
Heading into Sunday's afternoon round, the Blue Devils knew that a fourth-place finish was the most they could gain following the opening round loss. Duke responded to the challenge by defeating rival Wake Forest that afternoon by the same seven to five tie break score, and then carried the momentum through to Monday when it handed top-ranked Arizona its second loss of the tournament.
Redemption and irony seemed to take center stage for the Blue Devils throughout the tournament. In beating Wake Forest and Arizona, Duke was able to turn the tables on the only two teams that finished ahead of it at the Fall Preview.
An individual score was also settled on Monday as sophomore Jenny Chuasiriporn defeated Marisa Baena, the defending NCAA individual champion.
Perhaps even more impressive was the play of sophomore Amanda Loewen. Unable to really find a rhythm at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational earlier this fall, Loewen paced the Blue Devils by halving one match and winning her final two.
Duke's finish in California proved that it has to be considered one of the best, if not the best, team in the nation. The play of the entire Blue Devil squad appears to be getting stronger as the Blue Devils approach their final tournament of the Fall season at the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes Classic Nov. 8-10.
"The match play competition told me I've got players that respond to a challenge," Brooks said. "It's apparent that to challenge them is the right thing to do. They responded well. Our plan is to win at Hilton Head. I have the utmost confidence that they will rise to the occasion."
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