DUKE LEAD WOMEN'S CENTRAL REGION EIGHT FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By JULIE WILLIAMS

NCAA Division 1 Women's Central Regional
Norman, Oklahoma  
 
Team winner: Duke (13-under 851)
Individual winner: Ally McDonald, Mississippi State, 10-under 216
Also moving on to the NCAA championship (May 21-24, Athens, Georgia):
 2. Oklahoma (857), 3. Mississippi State (872), 4. Florida (877), 5. Airzona State (878), 6. UC Davis (880), 7. Wisconsin (883), 8. Michigan State (884).
Teams who failed included:
885 North Carolina State (9th). 886 Washington (10th). 904 Texas-San Antonio (17th). 911 Indiana (18th of 24 teams).

 • • •
Eight times atop the magic eight: Eight always is a significant number at NCAA regionals – it’s the number of teams that gets to advance to the NCAA Championship – but particularly special this year for the Blue Devils from Duke University. 
With a final-round 12-under 276 at the Central Regional, Duke secured its eighth NCAA regional victory on Saturday and its 25th national-championship berth. The Blue Devils posted a 13-under 851 total at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma.
The victory is especially significant for Dan Brook’s experienced Duke team because it’s only the second this season. 
Duke broke the ice with a 24-shot victory at the ACC Championship, and took the No. 1 seed into regionals. The Blue Devils are No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
“Every season is a different thing and we just keep going after it,” said Brooks. “It took us a while to get a win this year. A lot of times you are doing great things but not quite winning. This spring we had a lot of thirds, runner-ups but just not quite getting the big trophy. I feel great about this year.”
Duke hasn’t won a regional since 2007, and the last three years have been unusual. In 2011, Duke failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a team for the first time 13 years. The Blue Devils went winless that season.
In 2012, Duke qualified for the national championship with a team of only four players. Then-sophomore Alejandra Cangrejo injured her elbow last year in the first round of regionals and had to sit out the rest of the week. She was able to tee it up for the national championship. This year, Cangrejo was crucial to Duke’s regional effort. She led the team with a 5-under 211 total, good enough for a tie for second.
Senior Lindy Duncan, US Curtis Cup team player and named Player of the Year after last season, was fifth with a 4-under 212 total.
This is the first time Duke has won the Central Regional. The team’s seven other victories have all come at the East Regional.
• • •
Short shots: Home-team Oklahoma finished second to Duke after taking the lead into the final round. The Sooners finished at 7-under 857. ... Washington, which was the top-ranked team in the country in the fall, failed to advance. The Huskies missed by two strokes. ... Mississippi State’s Ally McDonald lapped the individual field. McDonald shot three rounds in the 60s and finished at 2-under 206. Her team also qualified after finishing third, earning its first national-championship berth in program history. ... Wake Forest’s Olafia Kirstinsdottir and Washington’s Ying Luo were the two individuals to qualify for the national championship.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72) Yardage 6298
206 Ally McDonald (Mississippi State) 69 69 68.
211 Alejandra Cangrejo (Duke) 72 69 70, Emily Collins (Oklahoma) 67 70 74, A C Tangay (Oklahoma) 71 70 70
SCORES BY BRITISH PLAYERS
225 Charlotte Thomas (Washington) 76 78 71  (T57).
231 Brogan Townend (Texas-San Antonio) 78 78 75 (T85)
232 Rosie Davies (Indiana) 74 80 78 (T78)
234 Rachael Taylor (North Carolina State) 83 77 74 (T99).
Field of 126 players.