Following Through

Coach Dan Brooks of the women's golf team will never be crowned king of Durham like his colleague Mike Krzyzewski, but it is only a matter of time before Brooks and the indomitable women's golf team receive its share of the hoopla.

The achievements are well-known by collegiate women's golf fans everywhere. During Brooks' tenure, the team has taken off, with the Blue Devils soaring to their greatest heights over the past five seasons. Duke has claimed two NCAA Championships, five ACC crowns, produced two NCAA individual champions and won 44 titles in this time span. In the Brooks era, which began in the 1984-85 season, the team has won the ACC title 10 times and never had a final ranking lower than 17th (1990).

"I'd say the number one reason for consistent success has been our ability to recruit not only talented and but high-character individuals," Brooks wrote in an e-mail. "An environment of camaraderie and maturity is self-perpetuating: Character attracts character. Talent will give you a good season; character will give you repeated great seasons."

Senior Virada Nirapathpongporn, originally from Thailand, is as responsible as any player for the elevation of the women's golf program to its elite status. She won the NCAA individual championship in 2002, was selected to the ACC 50th Anniversary Golf Team and intends to pursue an LPGA career.

Duke is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and has won eight tournaments this season (fall and spring combined). All that is left for the Blue Devils this year are the ACC and NCAA tournaments, and the women are brimming with a Sorenstam-esque confidence.

"Wanting to always do well and believing in my abilities has kept me playing well consistently throughout the year," Janangelo continued.

Brooks is the women's golf equivalent of CEO Michael Dell, as he has accomplished so much and is relatively young at 45 years old. He has already been inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and even George W. Bush himself opined on Brooks' quick and substantial success.

"Dan Brooks must be a great coach," President Bush said when the women's golf team visited the White House in 2002. "[Brooks] looks like a pretty young guy to me, and he's already in the Hall of Fame."

In reflecting on his recruiting success, Brooks has made a point to praise his players for helping him out tremendously in bringing in championship-caliber players.

"I listen very closely to my players when they talk about upcoming players who we might or might not recruit," Brooks wrote. "I try to recruit people whose opinions I would respect, then I pay attention to those opinions. Young golfers get to know each other as they travel from tournament to tournament together, go to dinner together and walk fairways together. I consider this an asset in recruiting."

His players appear to think that Brooks is the indispensable asset.

"I think Coach Brooks is the best college golf coach in the country," senior Leigh Anne Hardin wrote. "His strengths lie in his knowledge and his ability to help each player individually work on their games so that they can help the team by making themselves better. He is very good about getting to know the individuals on the team and understanding them and their needs. His coaching style is unique."

The women's golf team has been so dominant in recent years that when asked about how much recognition the team has received, several players feel the team actually deserves more. While some expressed a positive view on the acknowledgments given to the squad, this group has accomplished so much that one would be hard-pressed to refute the negative angle.

"[Receiving more attention] would definitely be nice," Nirapathpongporn said. "Students are not paying attention, and because we do as well as other sports like basketball, we would like to get a little recognition, too."

If they do go on to win their third NCAA championship in six attempts, then maybe the Blue Devils will finally get some serious recognition.