April 16, 2006

Pinehurst, NC - Virginia junior Leah Wigger saved her best round for last to help her Cavalier teammates cruise to a second-place finish at the ACC Championships. For 17th-ranked Virginia, which is in its third season fielding a program, it was the best finish in school history. The team tied for third last year.

Top-ranked Duke won the team championship, its 11th consecutive ACC title.

Wigger shot 1-under 71 during Sunday's final round at the Pinehurst No. 8 course for a three-day total of 3-over 219. Her second-place finish marked the first time a Cavalier has posted a top-10 showing at the ACC Championships. It also adds to her school record total as her 15th top-10 outing. Wigger's runner-up performance was the fourth in her career. That list includes second-place finishes at the 2005 NCAA Championships and 2005 NCAA East Regional.

Duke shot 6-over 294 during the final round to win the 54-hole tournament by 19 shots at 885. Virginia had its best team score on Sunday, shooting 8-over 296, to claim second place by 10 strokes at 904. Wake Forest, ranked 10th, moved up to place third at 914.

Duke's Amanda Blumenherst led the tournament from wire-to-wire to take medalist honors at 4-under 212. Wigger and Blumenherst were the only two golfers in the field who managed to shoot under par in at least one round. Wigger had rounds of 76, 72 and 71 while Blumenherst shot 69, 71 and 72.

Wigger, who is ranked 22nd in the latest Golfweek standings, placed 12th at last year's ACC Championship at 17-over 233 and was 11th as a freshman in 2004 at 4-over 217. Virginia junior Rachel Smith also had her best ACC outing to finish 11th for the Cavaliers at 227. That was her best finish of the season. She was 24th at the event as a freshman and 17th last season. Freshman Carly Truitt was 13th at 228 while Lauren Mielbrecht shot 231 to place 15th overall. First-year Jennie Arseneault was 26th at 235.

The Cavaliers will be off until May 11-13 when the NCAA Regional Championships take place. Virginia hopes to receive a bid to stay in the East Regional that will be held at Bryan Park Golf Course near Greensboro.

ACC Championship
Final Results
Pinehurst No. 8
Par 72, 6,293 yards
Pinehurst, NC

Team Results
1. Duke             294-297-294-885
2. Virginia         308-300-296-904
6. Wake Forest      314-302-298-914
4. Maryland         308-304-305-917
3. Florida State    302-307-309-918
5. NC State         302-312-306-920
7. North Carolina   315-306-307-928
8. Miami            316-310-307-933
9. Boston College   330-323-314-967
Individual Leaders
1. Amanada Blumenherst, Duke       69-71-72-212
2. Leah Wigger, Virgina            76-72-71-219
3. Nancy Mountcastle, NC State     74-75-73-222
4. Caroline Westrup, Florida State 72-79-72-223
5. Katie Trotter, Maryland         72-77-75-224
6. Katie Stepaneik Maryland        75-74-76-225
6. Jessica Steward, Miami          74-78-73-225
8. Jean Chua, Wake Forest          75-78-73-226
8. Elizabeth Janangelo, Duke       76-77-73-226
8. Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke         75-74-77-226
Virginia Scores
 2. Leah Wigger         76-72-71-219
11. Rachel Smith        75-77-75-227
13. Carly Truitt        78-74-76-228
15. Lauren Mielbrecht   80-77-74-231
26. Jennie Arseneault   79-77-79-235