Duke saved its best performance on the links for the last day of competition at the NCAA championships in Owings Mills, Md. But just like a year ago, that performance wasn't good enough to challenge for the national title.
The tournament marked the end of the careers of two of the most decorated athletes in Blue Devil history, Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee. The two were both four-time All-Americans and were part of two national championship teams in 2006 and 2007.
Despite not truly being in contention for a team championship, Duke carded an impressive 296 Friday, the Blue Devils' best round of the tournament. Lee and Blumenherst led the charge on the final day, shooting an even-par 72 and a 1-under 71, respectively, to drive Duke up the leaderboard.
Improved putting and fairway play from the whole team propelled the Blue Devils from eighth to sixth place in the standings-a result that might not have pleased head coach Dan Brooks, a five-time national champion, in past years. But Brooks said that the struggles and difficulties his team has faced this season-including Mina Harigae's decision to leave school to play professionally and the coach's own illness in the fall-made this season one of the most rewarding in his 24 seasons at Duke.
"It has more to do with the attitudes and the hard work that went into this [tournament]," Brooks said. "That's what I'm most satisfied about. Given the year that we've had-it's been a year of injury and high-impact departure-if you add all that up, for us to finish where we did is pretty satisfying."
Arizona State won the tournament at 30-over, finishing 25 strokes ahead of Duke. It was the first time in six years that the Blue Devils finished out of the top three.
Lee said she and Blumenherst felt little pressure during their final round, simply enjoying the experience. Lee, who recorded the best finish of her Duke career as a freshman in the national championships when she placed second, finished in a tie for 25th individually.
Blumenherst finished fourth in the individual competition, just four strokes behind champion Maria Hernandez of Purdue. Blumenherst said she was near tears on the 18th green, her last as an amateur.
After spurning professional golf for four years to complete her degree, Blumenherst finally turned pro Wednesday when she signed with IMG. She will begin her professional career at the end of June at the Wegmans LPGA in Pittsford, New York.
"It was definitely different-much more emotional," Blumenherst said of her last tournament. "We didn't win or anything, but after I got off the green, the whole team came to meet me and there were definitely a lot of tears shed."
Brooks echoed Blumenherst's sentiments, and praised both players' commitment to a program that they took to two national championships and three ACC titles.
"[Amanda and Jennie were] as excited to be college golfers as any athlete you'll ever see," Brooks said. "Neither one of them wanted this to end, this college career that they've had."
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