The Duke women’s golf team trailed by 12 strokes after the first round in Tennessee last week but stormed back to win by one stroke against a host of nationally ranked teams. This week, against less elite competition, Duke is hoping for the same result but a better start.
The No. 1 Blue Devils will travel down Tobacco Road to participate in the Franklin Street Partners Invitational at the Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. There they will face fourth-ranked Auburn, No. 17 Texas A&M and a number of other ACC and regional opponents.
“A win is always a positive thing,” head coach Dan Brooks said. “We’re a confident team. We have high expectations. One of the things I like most about this team is that they don’t rest. This team always remains hungry.”
On the Finley Golf Course a year ago, the then-sophomore Liz Janangelo finished tied for first at seven-under-par, including a 66 in the first round. All five of the Blue Devils golfers finished within the top-five including ties, as the team cruised to a 49-stroke victory over the rest of the field. Although this will be the first time Duke plays this course in the past year, the team is familiar with the setup.
“[The course] is not too long so it leaves with a lot of wedges in our hands, which we are pretty accurate with, so a lot of scoring can go on with that,” sophomore Brittany Lang said.
At the start of the season the Blue Devils were ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the Golf World and Golfweek rankings, respectively, but they have since climbed to the top of both charts with wins in their first two tournaments.
Last year’s defending national player of the year, Janangelo has been Duke’s most consistent golfer. With the exception of the 80 she fired in round one of last week’s tournament, Janangelo’s scores have hovered around par or better, and the nation’s ninth-ranked player has already claimed two top-10 finishes.
Lang, last season’s National Freshman of the Year, is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. She finished third in the NCAA Fall Preview and bounced back from the worst collegiate round of her career last weekend to finish 20th in the 54-hole event.
Sophomore Anna Grzebien and Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh are also ranked in the top 23 in Golfweek’s individual rankings. With Aazam-Zanganeh playing effectively after missing most of last season with an injury and the addition of freshman Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke has reloaded from the loss of Leigh Anne Hardin and Virada Nirapathpongporn to graduation.
“I knew we had a lot of talent on this team, and I knew that our freshman coming in was a talented player,” Brooks said.
This weekend’s local tournament should provide relief to Brooks’ players as they have had to balance a difficult traveling schedule and academics.
“I guess the expectations are pretty high,” Brooks said. “I really don’t think in terms of results, I’m not expecting spectacular results as much as I know what these players are capable of within their individual games.”
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