NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The top-seeded Duke women's golf team defeated Purdue in the first round and leads Ohio State in the second round with six holes remaining at the 2003 Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, Fla. The Blue Devils won on a tiebreaker defeating 16th-seeded Purdue to advance to the next round. Duke received easy wins by senior Virada Nirapathpongporn and freshman Brittany Lang, who each won 5-and-4 over Caroline Haase and Maria Stinson, respectively. Sophomore Liz Janangelo led 1-up going into the final hole, but made a bogey and finished the match all square with Beth Hermes. In the other two matches, freshman Anna Grzebien lost 2-and-1 to Onnarin Sattayabanphot and senior Leigh Anne Hardin fell, 2-and-1, to Ella Asbun.
Duke won the tiebreaker by winning more holes against Purdue.
'We came into this tournament feeling very confident,' said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. 'Purdue is a reminder to all of us that the underdog always has the mental advantage. They will always play good and give you a fight. They played great golf and we were not exactly on our game earlier today.'
Due to darkness, the Duke versus ninth-seeded Ohio State contest was delayed until Monday morning at 9:00 AM. With six holes remaining, the Blue Devils lead all five matches. Janangelo is winning 5-up over Allison Hanna, Grzebien leads Lindsay Knowlton 4-up, Hardin is 2-up over Jennifer Selfinger and both Nirapathpongporn and Lang are 1-up over Kristen White and Allyson Harvie, respectively.
'In the afternoon, we came out and played a little more of our game,' said Brooks.
Other second round matches include UCLA vs. Texas, Arizona vs. Georgia, and Southern California vs. Auburn.