Malixi, Cañado Espinal Go Undefeated; Blue Devils Fall in Championship Match to Top-Seeded Auburn

AIKEN, S.C. – After rolling to wins in the first two rounds of the Old Barnwell Derby Match Play, the third-seeded Duke women’s golf program faced a battle Tuesday in the championship match against top-seeded Auburn.  At the end, the Tigers registered a tight, 3-2, victory to claim the title over the Blue Devils at Old Barnwell in Aiken. 
 
For the tournament, both Rianne Malixi and Anna Cañado Espinal each finished with three match play wins.  Malixi, who hails from Manila, Philippines, shot a combined 15-under-par over three matches, while Cañado Espinal shot 8-under-par. 
 
Duke opened the event by totaling a 4-0 victory over sixth-seeded Florida State and then notched a 3-0 win over second-seeded Wake Forest to advance to the championship match. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – Auburn 3, Duke 2 – Championship

• Auburn jumped out to a hot start putting the first two points on the board Tuesday as Charlotte Cantonis knocked off Katie Li, 6&5, and Carys Worby totaled a 3&1 win over Carla De Troia. 
• The Blue Devils made a comeback though as Anna Cañado Espinal came-from-behind to defeat Katie Cranston, 2UP, to cut the Auburn lead to 2-1.  Cañado Espinal trailed by as many as 2UP through six holes, but won holes No. 7 and No. 8 to get the match tied.  Cranston went ahead with a par on No. 11, but Cañado Espinal parred No. 12 to return to all square.  Cañado Espinal registered an eagle on the par-5 No. 15 to take a 1UP lead and never relinquished the advantage for the win.  She finished the day shooting 2-under-par. 
• In a featured matchup of two of the top-15 ranked amateur golfers in the world, Duke’s Rianne Malixi faced Anna Davis.  Malixi birdied the first two holes and led 1UP early, but the match was tied after the fourth hole.  Davis went ahead with a birdie on No. 9 and led by as many as 2UP through 11.  Malixi started making a comeback as she birdied No. 12 and No. 15 to get the match back to tied.  Malixi birdied No. 16 to go 1UP, both golfers parred No. 17 and the duo birdied No. 18 to give Malixi the 1UP win.  Malixi closed strong shooting 5-under-par over her final seven holes for the win. 
• The match came down to Duke’s Andie Smith versus Molly Brown Davidson.  Both golfers birdied the first hole and then Davidson took her first lead on No. 4.  She held as big as a 3UP lead through 11 holes, but Smith battled back with a birdie on No. 12 and par on No. 13 to cut the advantage to 1UP with five holes remaining. …