Huskers Close Regular Season in Oklahoma

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s golf team will compete in its final regular-season tournament of the season when the Huskers travel to Norman, Okla., to take part in the 16-team Susie Maxwell Berning Classic Sunday, April 10 and Monday, April 11.

The tournament, which is hosted by the University of Oklahoma at The Trails Golf Club, will consist of three rounds with 36 holes on Sunday and 18 holes on Monday. Both days will begin with shotgun starts at 8 a.m.

The field will have a strong Big 12 Conference flavor with six league teams in competition, inlcuding Baylor, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Nebraska. Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, North Texas, Oral Roberts, SMU, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTEP, Oklahoma City University and Redlands College round out the tournament field.

With such a strong contingent of Big 12 teams, Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers hope to gain momentum heading into the Big 12 Conference Championships (April 22-24) at Austin, Texas.

"We would like to continue to build momentum in preparation for the Big 12 Championships in a couple of weeks," Krapfl said. "We feel like we got things started with what we accomplished in Tucson, and we hope to build from there."

The Huskers are coming off three of their best rounds of golf of the season at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., March 26-27. NU posted its best round of the season with a 288 in the final round, following rounds of 301 and 299 to post its best tournament score of the year with an 888.

Susie Maxwell Berning Classic
Location: Norman, Okla.
Course: The Trails Golf Club
Host: University of Oklahoma
Rounds: 3 (54 holes)
Yardage: 5,920
Par: 70
Number of Teams: 16

Nebraska Lineup
1. Merynn Ito
2. Chrissie McArdle
3. Allison Stewart
4. Jackie Beste
5. Elli Brown

NU Fires Best Scores of Season at Mountain View Collegiate
The Huskers shot their best round of the season with a third-round 288 to vault five spots and finish in a tie for sixth at the 15-team Mountain View Collegiate on March 27.

Nebraska's even-par team total of 288 was its top round of the year and the second-lowest round by any team in the tournament. It came after producing rounds of 301 and 299 on the tournament's first day, as the Huskers closed the 54-hole tournament with a season-best three-round score of 888 on the 5,982-yard layout at the Mountain View Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz.

"We put up some really good numbers across the board today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "It was certainly encouraging to see everyone on the team put up solid numbers, and hopefully we can build on this the rest of the season."

In a true team effort, two Huskers (Allison Stewart and Elli Brown) produced the best three-round totals of their careers, while a third (Jackie Beste) tied her career best. All five of the Huskers shot 75 or lower in the final round.

Nebraska finished in a tie for sixth place with the hosts from Colorado, picking up nine strokes on the Buffaloes on the final day of competition. The Huskers finished 18 strokes behind the tournament champions from Northwestern.

Husker senior Merynn Ito fired a three-under par 69 in the final round to tie for the second-best round of her career. Ito finished at 217 in a tie for eighth place.

Sophomore Chrissie McArdle added a 73 on the final day to finish in a tie for 23rd at 222, just one stroke shy of her career-best tournament total.

Jackie Beste and Allison Stewart tied for 37th at 226, as Beste matched her career-low set at the 2003 Mountain View Collegiate, while Stewart eclipsed the 229 she fired to open the 2004 fall campaign at NU's Chip-N Club Invitational.

Elli Brown fired an even-par 72 on the final day to finish in a tie for 43rd at 228, surpassing her previous career-best tournament total of 232.

Ito Continues to Improve in Strong Senior Season
Nebraska's lone senior, Merynn Ito has continued to lead the Huskers throughout her final season at NU.

The Aiea, Hawaii, native owns the Huskers' top stroke average this year at 76.12, which is more than a stroke better than the 77.16 average she produced last season as one of Nebraska's top players.

Not only has Ito shown remarkable consistency by shooting 79 or lower in 22 of her 26 rounds this season, she has also shown the ability to go low.

Ito closed the fall season by tying Nebraska's school record with a 68 in the second round at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational at Kiawah Island, S.C. Her career-best round was sandwiched between a first-round 74 and a final-round 73 to finish with a career-best 215 to finish in second place at the tournament.

Ito picked up right where she left off at the start of the spring season by firing a three-under par 69 in the opening-round of the Central District Invitational at Parrish, Fla. She added rounds of 77 and 73 to finish at 219 in a tie for sixth place.

She is coming off another strong performance by closing the Mountain View Collegiate with her third round of 69 or less on the season. Ito's third-round 69 followed rounds of 74 and 74 to open the tournament, as she closed with the second-best tournament total of her career at 217.

Ito owns four top-10 tournament finishes this season, including a fourth-place showing at the Chip-N Club Invitational to open the fall season and her eighth-place showing at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., March 26-27. In her four seasons in Nebraska's lineup, Ito owns nine top-10 tournament finishes and 16 top-15 efforts.

McArdle Improves Consistency in Sophomore Season
Sophomore Chrissie McArdle has been one of Nebraska's most consistent performers throughout 2004-05. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native has produced rounds of 79 or better in 21 of her 26 rounds this season and owns four top-20 tournament finishes.

McArdle just missed a top-20 finish at the Mountain View Collegiate March 26-27, but put together one of her best tournaments of the season by finishing at 222 to tie for 23rd. She posted rounds of 73, 76 and 73, as she finished just one stroke shy of her career-best 221.

At the UNLV Spring Invitational, McArdle added an 18th-place performance by managing a 231 by shooting consistent rounds of 78, 76 and 77 over the three-day event.

On the season, McArdle's 77.69 stroke average is nearly two strokes better than the 79.60 average she produced as a true freshman for the Huskers last season.

McArdle also fired her top round (71) and best tournament score (221) of her NU career this season at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational.

Brown, Stewart Give Huskers Solid Freshman Class
Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart and true freshman Elli Brown have earned spots in a youthful Husker lineup this season.

Stewart has been a fixture in NU's starting five throughout the season after opening the year with a third-place performance at Nebraska's Chip-N Club Invitational.

The Vermillion, S.D., native owns a 79.96 stroke average on the year, and is coming off her best tournament score of her career with a 226 at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., March 26-27. Stewart's effort in Arizona was good for a tie for 37th, marking the second-best tournament finish of her career.

Brown has continued to improve her game throughout her first season in Lincoln and has shown glimpses of greatness this season. The Meridian, Idaho, native led a talented tournament field that included the top four players in the national rankings after the first round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on March 11.

Brown fired a career-best 70 in the opening round, but could not hold the lead after the second round. She came back from a tough 88 on the second day to shoot a 74 and finish in 18th place, her second top-20 tournament finish of her young career.

She added her most consistent tournament effort of her career with rounds of 79, 77 and 72 to produce a career-best 228 at the Mountain View Collegiate. Brown lowered her season stroke average to 78.83, which ranks third on the team.