Wake Forest University
Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
Demon Deacons Finish Second At Northrop Grumman Reg. Challenge
2/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Feb. 11, 2009
PALOS VERDES, Calif. - The No. 7 Wake Forest women's golf team carded the lowest round of the day and pulled ahead of top-ranked UCLA and second-ranked Southern Cal to finish second at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.
Starting the day in fourth place, the Demon Deacons used steady play throughout the lineup to post a 295, which was the lowest round of the day and just one stroke off the lowest round of the tournament, to come back and overtake both UCLA and Southern Cal.
The finish was made even better considering 13 of the 16 teams in the field were ranked in the top-30 in the latest Golfweek poll. The second-place finish was also the best finish for the Deacs in their three trips to the Northrop Grumman, which usually attracts one of the top fields each year.
"I am so excited for the players," said head coach Dianne Dailey. "They played extremely well today and I couldn't be happier. This just shows them that we can play with the best teams in the country. We were paired with Arizona State, UCLA and USC today and we played great."
"We hung in there really well today and made a number of spectacular up-and-downs," Dailey continued. "The approach tthe players took to today's round was exactly how we need to play all year. They didn't get to excited or too down. It was just a great day all-around."
No. 3 Arizona State swept both the team and individual titles, winning the team competition by 18-shots. ASU's Juliana Murcia used a 1-under 70 in the first round to give her a lead that she would never relinquish, winning medalist honors by eight shots after rounds of 70-71-73=214 (+1).
The Deacs' top finisher was senior Nannette Hill who finished tied for fourth in the 84-player field at 12-over par. After rounds of 76 and 74 to open the tournament, the Pelham, N.Y., native started her round on Wednesday with four bogies in her first six holes. However, she regrouped and would par the final 12 holes to post a solid round of 4-over 75.
"Nannette played beautifully all week," said Dailey. "I know she didn't score as well as she wanted to today because the putts just didn't fall but her speed was great and I think she parred her last 12 holes after a bit of a rough start."
Like Hill, freshman Cheyenne Woods finished with a very good round of 2-over 73 on Wednesday. She posted a total of four birdies on the day to finish tied for ninth, which was her second consecutive top-10 finish. She carded rounds of 79-76-73=228 to finish at 15-over.
Sophomore Natalie Sheary, the 2008 individual champion at the Northrop Grumman, finished Wednesday with her best score of the tournament, a 3-over 74. She was 1-under through her first nine holes after birding holes 7, 10 and 12. Sheary wound up with a total of four birdies on the day and finished the tournament tied for 20th with rounds of 80-79-74=233 (+20).
Junior Dolores White also posted her best round of the tournament on Wednesday with a 2-over 73. She went on to card one birdie and just three bogies in her final round and finished the tournament in a tie for 34th place after rounds of 81-82-73=236 (+23).
Rounding out the Demon Deacon five was sophomore Allie Bodemann, who posted an 84 on Wednesday after rounds of 80 and 77 on Monday and Tuesday.
"I think the finish this week will just give the students so much confidence heading into the rest of the spring," Dailey said. "We played well in a very strong field and the players hung tough in some rough conditions early on. This tournament will hopefully propel us throughout the rest of the season."
The Demon Deacons will now have almost a month to prepare for the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge, La., on March 13-15.
Wake Forest Scores
T4 Nannette Hill 76-74-75=225 (+12)
T9 Cheyenne Woods 79-76-73=228 (+15)
T20 Natalie Sheary 80-79-74=233 (+20)
T34 Dolores White 81-82-73=236 (+23)
T50 Allie Bodemann 80-77-84=242 (+28)
Players Mentioned
