Duke closed the fall with a win at the Women's East Lake Cup
(East Lake Cup Photo)
ATLANTA, GA (November 2, 2016) -- It wasn't always an easy fall for Duke but they certainly ended it on a high note by capturing the Women's East Lake Cup. Squaring off against defending national champion Washington in the finals, Duke handled their business on a sunny Wednesday at East Lake Golf Club by a final tally of 3.5-1.5.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team for showing up here at the end of the fall," Duke head coach Dan Brooks told Golf Channel of his first 2016-2017 win. "We have had a bit of an off fall but we have some little things but to come out at the end of the fall playing like this, I couldn't be more proud."
Duke, the three-seed, was in control for much of the afternoon and they received wins from junior Lisa Maguire, sophomore Virginia Elena Carta and senior Sandy Choi.
Lisa Maguire bested Washington freshman Eunwon Park and posted the first point for Duke thanks to a match winning par on the 18th hole.
Possibility the most satisfying win of the day for Duke, who beat UCLA in the semifinals, came from sophomore and defending national individual champion Virginia Elena Carta. Throughout the fall Elena Carta struggled with expectations and also tonsillitis but she will go into the spring full of momentum following a 7&6 victory over freshman Ellen Takada.
"It was really hard at the beginning of the year with a lot of expectations coming from not just me but everyone. I had a tough fall because I got sick and I have been sick until now," said Elena Carta. "But it has been really great because I am super excited about the work we have done with the team and we have gotten really close. I think this is going to give us a lot of momentum heading into the spring."
The lone Washington point came from sophomore Wenyung Keh while the Leona Maguire (Jr) and Julianne Alvarez (So) match finished all-square.
"I think really having the experience of match play and giving these young players the opportunity to be here and experience it with the TV and all that and realize that we can play and to take down Stanford was a great, great feat for us." Washington head coach Mary Lou Mulflur said. "Then we gave Duke as much as we could give them today."
Washington made a surprise run to the championship match after they defeated Stanford in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Huskies were the four-seed after finishing 34-strokes behind Stanford during Monday's stroke-play qualifying round.
In the consolation match top-seed Stanford defeated two-seed UCLA 3-2
View results for Women's East Lake Cup
ABOUT THE
Women's East Lake Cup
Started in 2015 and hosted by the historic
East
Lake Golf Club Atlanta, this collegiate, two-day
match
play competition features the top-performing
teams
from the previous year's NCAA Women's
Golf Championships.
View Complete Tournament Information