No. 1 Duke failed to win in its third consecutive tournament after finishing third at the California Guadalajara Invitational in Mexico Wednesday.
The defending NCAA Champions have faltered since winning their first three tournaments of the season, finishing second in both the Auburn Derby Invitational Nov. 6 and the Wildcat Invitational Feb. 21.
In the past five years Duke has never lost more than two events in a row, but they are now in a relative slump for a team that has won the last 10 ACC championships.
"I believe we might be trying a bit too hard," head coach Dan Brooks said. "Sometimes, when you know how good you are, and you know what you're capable of, you can be really intolerant of your own mistakes."
Duke showed its potential with a final round score of 3-under-par 284, which was the second best round by any team in the three-day contest. But the effort was not enough to make up for the underachieving Blue Devils' first two rounds of five-over-par 293 and 9-over-par 297.
After starting the final round in fourth, Duke's late surge helped them to pass Arizona State by eight strokes. The team finished 10-over par-10 strokes behind the winner, No. 2 UCLA.
The final-day charge was led by the Blue Devils' two freshmen, first-ranked Amanda Blumenherst and No. 23 Jennie Lee. Both players carded their best rounds of the tournament with a pair of 2-under-par 70s.
Blumenherst finished tied for fifth overall at 1-under par, which left her a full 12 strokes behind overall winner Irene Chow of USC.
Lee finished in a three-way tie for 20th place with two fellow Blue Devils, senior Liz Janangelo and sophomore Jennifer Pandolfi. No. 5 Janangelo, the 2004 National Player of the Year, followed up her disappointing second round 77 with an even-par 72.
Junior Anna Grzebien, ranked second nationally, aided the Duke comeback by also posting a 72. The reigning NCAA Champion closed out the tournament in a tie for seventh place, two strokes behind Blumenherst.
The Blue Devils will have a chance to end their drought when they tee off in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin March 17th. Until then, Brooks seems unfazed by his team's recent performance.
"I'm not at all concerned regarding the way the spring is progressing," he said. "I've seen considerable good play from our players in Mexico."
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