The 2005 NCAA Women's Golf Champions will begin their title defense this weekend at the Mason Rudolph Classic in Nashville, Tenn.
Duke will look to ride 2005 First Team All-Americans Anna Grzebien and Liz Janangelo in its efforts to repeat as champions.
The Blue Devils will be missing two of their top players from the title-winning squad. Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh graduated and Brittany Lang defected to the LPGA in the off season. Duke will attempt to fill the vacancies with freshmen Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee.
The experienced freshmen both were named to the Rolex Junior All-American Team three times and Blumenherst finished her high school career as the third-ranked junior golfer in the country by Golf Digest.
"These are seasoned players," head coach Dan Brooks said. "I'm not worried that they'll be nervous about playing for a team that just won the National Championship. I consider them experienced golfers and expect them to fit right in."
UCLA captured the top spot in the new Golfweek Poll after finishing as NCAA runner-up last spring. Unlike Duke, the Bruins lost none of their top five golfers.
The new-look Blue Devils open the season ranked No. 2 in the country and Grzebien, the ACC and NCAA individual champion, will start the year as Golfweek's top-ranked player.
The junior had not won any previous tournaments in her collegiate career, but she battled through wrist problems and excelled down the stretch of the 2005 season.
"I'm really excited to get back on the course," Grzebien said. "I took a lot of time off for my wrist to heal, but now I'm ready to get back out there and fine tune my game."
Janangelo, the team's lone senior, will make her debut as team captain this weekend. The Connecticut native was a National Golf Coach Association's First-Team All-American last season and the NGCA player of the Year in 2003.
The senior has had great success on the course, with six tournament victories in addition to her NGCA accolades. But with the departure of Aazam-Zanganeh, she will now have to lead the Blue Devils off the course as well.
"I want to use my experience to help the two freshman adapt to Duke," Janangelo said. "They already have the golf part down, but it can be extremely difficult to balance all the school work with a varsity sport."
Sophomore Jennifer Pandolfi also will have to step into a different role this year. The 2005 ACC Freshman of the Year is no longer the youngest player on the team. As the team's sole sophomore, she will also try to ease the transition for Blumenherst and Lee.
"I was in their position last year, so I'm ready to answer questions and give advice," Pandolfi said. "All five of us have really gelled. My team has been great to work with, none of us are afraid to be honest, especially when helping with someone with their game."
Last season, five players were enough for the Blue Devils to capture a National Championship, and they are hoping this year will be the same. With five players competing on the course and four of the scores being tallied, Duke has almost no room for injuries or slumps, especially considering the strength of UCLA.
Few teams in the country compete with just five players, but Brooks said the limited roster has worked to his team's advantage.
"One thing I discovered is that it wasn't the push from the sixth or seventh player that got someone to stay on top of their game, it was the push from within," Brooks said. "All five of these girls are motivated and hungry to win."
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