Lincoln - The Nebraska women's golf team picked up where they finished the 2000 spring season off, winning the Alltel Husker Invitational by 13 strokes at the Yankee Hill Country Club Tuesday afternoon.
The Huskers, who finished 19th at the NCAA Championships last season, closed the tournament with a final round score of 300, finishing the 54-hole invitational with a team score of 901, 13 shots ahead of runner-up Texas Tech, which fired a team low of 296 in Tuesday's round. Oklahoma (917), Missouri (923) and Minnesota (930) rounded out the top five finishers in the 17-team meet.
Junior Sarah Sasse (Lincoln, Neb.) paced the Huskers throughout the tournament, winning her second career collegiate event after closing with a final-round score of 73, one-over par. Sasse, who has seven career top-five finishes, entered the final round with a five-shot lead and won by eight shots over Jamie Tucker of Missouri, despite a round which featured five birdies and three double bogeys. Her score of 217 was one off the 54-hole school record of 216 by Amanda Sutcliffe at the 1998 Chip-N-Club Invitational and the win was Sasse's first since the Betsy Rawls Classic last spring.
Sasse was one of three Huskers who captured top-10 finishes. Junior Amanda Sutcliffe (Gunnedah, New South Wales) earned her second career top-five finish after placing in a four-way tie for third at 226 after a final round score of 73, while senior Amy Roux (Kearney, Neb.) finished in a three-way tie for ninth at 227, 11-over par. Junior Catha Fogelberg (Helsingborg, Sweden) and sophomore Amanda Krane (Wantagh, N.Y.) rounded out the Husker lineup, placing 18th and 60th, respectively, with final tournament scores of 231 and 248. In addition, Stephanie Schaefer, competing as an individual, finished in 68th place with a score of 253.
The Huskers entered the final round with a 10-shot after Oklahoma's Lisa Meldrum second-round score was discounted because of an error on her scorecard. Meldrum's 75 was replaced with an 83 from Lisa Martin, pushing the Sooners' second-round score to a 310.
The tournament title is Nebraska's 16th under Coach Robin Krapfl, who is beginning her 14th season at NU.
The Huskers return to action this Friday through Sunday (Sept. 15-17), when they travel to Florida for the NCAA Preview, hosted by Stetson University.