The defending national champion and No. 1 women's golf team teed off on the East Region last weekend, garnering an eight-stroke victory en route to Duke's third consecutive regional championship at Salem Glen Country Club in Clemmons, N.C.
Duke's victories come in many shapes and sizes--either sizzling individual scores or unbeatable team lows bring head coach Dan Brooks wins--and at the East Regional, it was the Blue Devils' depth that spurred Duke to the title.
"To win the East Regional and not have anyone in the top three and have nobody higher than 19 is pretty exciting," Brooks said last week. "It shows we are going to go into nationals with five golfers all of whom can all finish very high at the championship. That is exciting."
Indeed, the Blue Devils have a great deal to celebrate. Their final tally of 857 was just three strokes off the program's school record, and is their best team score in 2003.
The statistic is very humbling, particularly since the NCAA individual reigning champion, Virada Nirapathpongporn, finished in a tie for fifth-place with a score of 212. Her coach believes she can score much lower, and he believes her teammates can also perform equally well. Liz Janangelo and Leigh Anne Hardin each recorded tallies of 217, while Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh and Kristina Engstrom recorded a 218 and 219, respectively. The balance is Duke's strength.
"We have interesting scoring averages on our team," Brooks said. "They are between 73.4 to 74.5. There is about a one shot difference between one and five throughout the year. That means in any given tournament any individual can win. It is really fun to coach this group because of that, you never know who is going to get hot."
The NCAA field awaiting them in West Lafayette, Ind., is hoping Duke fizzles, and fizzles quickly.
The Blue Devils will attempt to defend their titles--both Nirapathpongporn's individual championship and Duke's team title--when they travel to Purdue University for the NCAA Championships May 20 to May 23.
"From a game development point, we are right where we need to be right now. We have one week to tune things up and we know exactly what we are working on. We have already made progress in those areas. I couldn't ask for anything more and if we get to the nationals healthy, we have a really good chance."
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