Duke comes out on top at Hooters

In a dramatic finish that needed sudden death, Virada Nirapathpongporn won on the first playoff hole to give the No. 1 Duke women's golf team the title at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship. The Blue Devils defeated sixth-seeded Georgia, 3-2.

"It feels great, especially in match play," head coach Dan Brooks said. "Match play is kind of a grueling thing, and the matches were close so it feels good to come out on top."

Nirapathpongporn, the reigning U.S. Women's Amateur Champion, took an early lead in her match against the Bulldogs' Kelly Froelich with a birdie on her first hole, number 17. Froelich would not go away, however, and took the lead with three holes remaining.

With the tournament up for grabs on the final hole of the round, Nirapathpongporn hit her second shot onto the green on the par-five 16th. Although she missed her eagle attempt, she made birdie to send the match to a playoff.

In the days' other matches, Leigh Anne Hardin controlled the final seven holes and won her match 5 and 4 after trailing early. The other Blue Devil victory came from Anna Grzebien, who defeated the Bulldogs' Lisa Tyler, 2 up.

"We had two solid wins that came in," Brooks said. "Anna held the lead for a lot of the day and obviously Leigh Ann finished 5 and 4, so she had just a super match. Those are extremely valuable to have."

Duke's Liz Janangelo lost to Allison Martin 3 and 2, while Brittany Lang also struggled, losing to Georgia's Whitney Wade 2 up.

With the victory, Duke finished its fall season undefeated for the first time in school history.

"I can't ask for anything better for my senior year," Nirapathpongporn said. "It's really fun to do it together as a team. This team is very special. We work together well, we pull for each other, and we help each other get better."