Another tournament, another victory.
The second-ranked women's golf team, already the winner of three tournaments since the start of the spring season, added another trophy to its mantle with a 12-stroke win at the Bryan National Collegiate tournament, played at the blustery, par-72, 6,064-yard Bryan Park Champions Course in Browns Summit.
"I'm just really happy with the team," coach Dan Brooks said. "We played in really not perfect conditions over there. The wind was blowing, it was cold, and I think they stayed tough in some pretty nasty stuff."
No player remained tougher than Virada "Oui" Nirapathpongporn, who won her first tournament of the spring in a two-hole playoff against Georgia's Angela Jerman after shooting an astounding 65 in the tourney's opening round. Sunday, Nirapathpongporn drilled her drive down the middle of the fairway on the second playoff hole, nailed a fairway wood just over the green, chipped to within one foot of the cup and sunk her birdie putt to become the individual medalist for the event.
Brooks was impressed with the sophomore's mental resiliency, which she demonstrated despite not striking the ball at her optimum level.
"I'm really happy with the way Oui wins the tournament and really wasn't hitting it well going into the tournament," Brooks said. "She didn't feel good--she didn't feel confident over the ball--and I'm excited at the way she just used her mind to win. It wasn't a win that was going to come easy and she figured out a way to win anyways."
While Nirapathpongporn was figuring out how to win, her teammate and defending NCAA champion Candy Hannemann continued to re-establish her competitiveness in the golf world. The Rio native, who finished second in Duke's last tournament, continued her solid play by posting rounds of 74-71-70 for a three-day total of 215, four strokes off the lead. Hannemann tied Ohio State's Ashley Lowery for third place overall.
"I'm really excited for Candy. I feel like she's right on track getting her game back to where it belongs," Brooks said. "She's playing good golf. The balls aren't falling in the hole yet. She's not dropping putts yet. She had nine balls within 15 feet today. She was in the position to have a lot of birdies today, but the balls weren't falling in."
Leigh Anne Hardin continued to play her characteristically consistent golf, finishing in 15th place after rounds of 74, 74 and 76. Meanwhile, her teammate, Kristina Engstrom, shot 226 over the course of the event, good enough for 23rd place. Freshman Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh rounded out Duke's team performers, ending up in a respectable tie for 32nd place after a dreadful 81 to start the weekend.
"Niloufar was actually not striking it her best and not putting it her best, so to play those rounds not striking it that well was just a testimony to her attitude," Brooks said. "She's stayed strong and she's come a long way in that department."
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