Parrish, Fla. -- The Nebraska women’s golf team managed a final-round 317 to finish in 10th place at the 15-team Central District Invitational on Tuesday.
Nebraska’s three-round total of 939 was 36 strokes behind the team champions from Louisiana State, and 13 strokes behind ninth-place Texas Tech.
Last fall, the Huskers finished with a team stroke average of 305.35 (5,191 strokes/17 rounds), 7.65 strokes better than the team stroke average of 313 compiled over the past two days.
"I was disappointed in the score we shot," Coach Robin Krapfl said. "We are a much better team than how we played in this tournament."
Senior captain Stephanie Schaefer (Columbus, Neb.) led the Huskers by finishing in a tie for 23rd over the 54-hole tournament. Schaefer struggled on Tuesday with a 10-over-par 82, to finish with a three-round score of 231, after firing rounds of 72 and 77 on Monday.
Junior Merynn Ito (Aiea, Hawaii) added a tie for 34th (77-79-78-234), while sophomore Jackie Beste (Sauk Centre, Minn.) tied for 45th (82-80-77-239) after firing Nebraska’s best round of the day with a five-over-par 77 on Tuesday.
Junior Stephanie Ruiz (Edmond, Okla.) managed a tie for 55th (75-86-83-244), while true freshman Christine McArdle (Eden Prairie, Minn.) added a final-round 80 for Nebraska’s third-best score on Tuesday. McArdle did not place in the tournament, after being disqualified from Monday’s first round.
Krapfl said the weather was again a factor in Nebraska’s performance.
"The elements held us back. It was really windy this morning and it affected us a lot."
Wisconsin’s Malinda Johnson (69-75-76-220), Texas A&M’s Christa Spedding (76-72-72-220) and TCU’s Brooke Tull (72-75-73-220) finished in a three-way tie for first place individually, as each golfer finished at four-over-par for the tournament.
Krapfl is confident that the team will improve as the spring progresses.
"This is a very talented team and they will come back from this experience," Krapfl said. "I look for much improvement in the future from the team."
Nebraska continues spring action Tuesday and Wednesday, March 2-3, at the 2004 Spartan Invitational in Monterey, Calif.
Central District Invitational
Course: River Wildnerness Golf Course (Par 72, 6,099 yards)
Final Team Standings
Team (1st-2nd-3rd-Total)
1. LSU (295-298-310-903)
2. Michigan State (298-298-310-906)
3. Kansas State (304-295-313-912)
4. TCU (299-305-311-915)
5. Arkansas (307-303-311-921)
6. Northwestern (303-314-305-922)
7. Texas A&M (311-309-304-924)
8. Baylor (314-305-306-925)
9. Texas Tech (306-307-313-926)
10. Nebraska (306-316-317-939)
11. Iowa State (316-306-321-943)
Wisconsin (317-317-309-943)
13. Iowa (312-316-317-945)
14. Indiana (329-318-310-957)
15. Minnesota (323-330-333-986)
Top Five Individual Finishers
1. Malinda Johnson, Wisconsin (69-75-76-220)
Christa Spedding, Texas A&M (76-72-72-220)
Brooke Tull, TCU (72-75-73-220)
4. Alice Kim, Northwestern (72-75-75-222)
5. Allison Fouch, Michigan State (74-76-74-224)
Nebraska Individuals
T23. Stephanie Schaefer (72-77-82-231)
T34. Merynn Ito (77-79-78-234)
T45. Jackie Beste (82-80-77-239)
T55. Stephanie Ruiz (75-86-83-244)
--- Christine McArdle (DQ-80-80)