Courtesy of goduke.com
CLEMMONS, N.C.- The top-ranked Duke women’s golf team continued one of the most impressive steaks in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history on Sunday as the Blue Devils captured their ninth-straight ACC Championship with a 19-stroke victory at the Par 71, 6,348-yard Salem Glen Country Club.
The Blue Devils carded a school-record round of 11-under-par 273 on Sunday to finish with a three-day school-record total of 838. Duke finished ahead of Wake Forest (857), North Carolina (861), Florida State (887), Maryland (904) and Virginia (915). Duke picked up its 12th overall title in the 16 years the ACC has held the championship.
Duke’s Brittany Lang became the ninth Blue Devil capture the ACC Individual title as the freshman fired a final round 68 to finish 9-under-par (204) for the weekend. The McKinney, Texas native posted three straight rounds in the 60’s to win her third title of the spring.
Lang headed into the final round one stroke behind the reigning ACC Champion of North Carolina, Meaghan Francella. After nine holes on Sunday, Lang trailed Francella by two strokes before birding holes 10 and 13 to even the score. Lang went on to par the final five holes, but Francella bogied holes 15 and 18 to give Lang the two-stroke victory.
No Blue Devil posted a score above 72 on the day, led by Sunday’s best round of 66 by sophomore Liz Janangelo. The West Hartford, Conn., product posted seven birdies on the day to finish fourth with a three-day total of 212, 1 under par. Both seniors Leigh Anne Hardin and Virada Nirapathpongporn finished the weekend with totals of 214, which was tied for seventh. Hardin, from Martinsville, Ind., finished with a 71 on the final day, while Nirapathpongporn, of Bangkok, Thailand, posted a 72.
After struggling on day two, freshman Anna Grzebien continued her dominance in the final round with a 68. The Narragansett, R.I., native finished tied for 11th with a 217.
For the tournament, Lang and Janangelo were tied for the lead with 13 birdies in three rounds along with Francella. Lang also dominated the par-4 holes over the weekend with a 7 under par score.
The golfers become the second Duke sport to win an ACC Championship in 2003-04 along with the women’s basketball team. The Blue Devils will next play in the NCAA Regional at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., from May 6-8.
Head Coach Dan Brooks
‘I always enjoy strong finishes, whether it be a strong front side or strong back nine. It shows a bright future when you finish strong like we did today. When you finish strong, you have the ability to focus and play well,’ said Duke head coach Dan Brooks.
‘The course was in great condition and very score able this weekend. The scores we put out there today are what we should be shooting on this course.’
‘It was a lot of fun out there today and nobody likes to win more than we do.’