Kiawah Island, S.C. - Senior Merynn Ito tied the school record with a career-low 68 in the second round and claimed runner-up honors in the tournament with a career-low 215 to fuel the Nebraska women's golf team's charge from 11th to fourth place on the final day of the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate on Tuesday.
Ito, a native of Aiea, Hawaii, set the tone for the Huskers by playing the best tournament of her career and one of the best in school history. After opening the second round with a 34 on the front nine on Monday, Ito added a 34 on the back nine to tie the school record with a four-under par 68, set by Amy Roux at the Big Ten/Big 12 "Shootout at the Legends" Challenge in Franklin, Ind., on Oct. 13, 1998, and matched by Elizabeth Bahensky at the NCAA Tournament in Sunriver, Ore., on May 26, 2000.
Ito's 68 was the lowest individual round in the entire tournament and was sandwiched between rounds of 74 and 73 to close with a three-round total of 215, shattering her previous career-best of 223 set last year at the Chip-N Club Invitational.
Ito helped the Huskers fire a 290 in the second round, Nebraska's lowest total since the second round of the Ram Fall Classic, which was the first tournament of the 2002 fall season. The score is just five strokes off the school record (285) set at the 1998 Chip-N Club Invitational on Sept. 14, 1998.
The Huskers, who opened the day by playing the final nine holes of the second round, came out on fire off the opening tee. After posting a strong 146 on the first nine holes of the second round on Monday, Nebraska sealed its best round of the season by firing a 144 on the back nine.
The Huskers added their best final round of the season with a 292 in the third round to close the tournament with a season-low 889 over three rounds. Nebraska's 54-hole total was just two strokes shy of the school-record 887 set at the Colorado Invitational on Sept. 29, 1997.
Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl was excited about the Huskers' solid showing to close the fall campaign.
"It was our day today," Krapfl said. "What a tremendous way to close the fall season. I've been saying all along that our team had a ton of potential, and we finally put it together and played some great golf today. We just had a little too much ground to make up after struggling for a few holes to close the first round, but other than that we really played solid golf. This should give us some great momentum and motivation heading into the spring season."
Sophomore Chrissie McArdle added a career-best performance for the Huskers, firing a one-under par 71 in the final round to go along with a pair of 75s to finish in a tie for 10th place. The 221 matched her previous career-best, which also came in NU's final fall tournament a season ago at the adidas Classic.
Junior Sara Sackett tied her career best round with an even-par 72 in the third round to close at 224 in a tie for 19th place.
True freshman Elli Brown shot a 73 in the second round between rounds of 80 and 81 to finish in a tie for 52nd place with a 234. Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart matched Brown's 234 with rounds of 82, 76 and 76.
The Huskers finished seven strokes behind the tournament champions from Campbell, which strung together rounds of 298, 290 and 294 to close at 882. Michigan finished second with a three-round score of 885, while SMU finished third one stroke ahead of the Huskers at 888 in the 18-team tournament hosted by the College of Charleston.
East Carolina's Adrienne Millican claimed the individual crown with a three-under par 213 on the 5,911-yard layout of the Oak Point Golf Club.
The Huskers return to action with the opening of the spring season at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 21-22.
Final Team Standings
Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate
Kiawah Island, S.C.
Nov. 1-2, 2004
Par: 72 Yardage: 5,911
1. Campbell 298-290-294 (882)
2. Michigan 300-289-296 (885)
3. SMU 304-290-294 (888)
4. Nebraska 307-290-292 (889)
5. Coastal Carolina 301-296-293 (890)
6. Notre Dame 300-297-295 (892)
7. East Carolina 301-295-297 (893)
8. Louisville 298-298-299 (895)
9. College of Charleston 309-296-301 (906)
10. Kansas State 305-297-309 (911)
11. Oral Roberts 305-308-308 (921)
12. Illinois 302-304-319 (925)
13. Wisconsin 308-313-311 (932)
14. Arkansas State 309-313-321 (943)
15. Western Carolina 315-307-324 (946)
16. Cincinnati 327-320-320 (967)
17. Appalachian State 338-334-315 (987)
18. The Citadel 338-351-333 (1,022)
Individual Top Five Finishers
1. Adrienne Millican, East Carolina 70-71-72-213 (-3)
2. Merynn Ito, Nebraska 74-68-73-215 (-1)
3. Adrienne White, Louisville 72-70-74-216 (even)
4. Ali Stinson, Michigan 75-70-71-216 (even)
5. Alejandra Shaw, Campbell 74-73-70-217 (+1)
Brianna Broderick, Michigan 72-72-73-217 (+1)
Nebraska Individual Results
2. Merynn Ito, 74-68-73-215 (-1)
T10. Chrissie McArdle, 75-75-71-221 (+5)
T19. Sara Sackett, 78-74-72-224 (+8)
T52. Elli Brown, 80-73-81-234 (+18)
T52. Allison Stewart, 82-76-76-234 (+18)