Austin, Texas - The Nebraska women's golf team fired a final-round 313 to finish the Big 12 Championships in seventh place with a 942 team score at The University of Texas Golf Course on Sunday. True freshman Elli Brown closed a strong tournament with a 79 in the final round to finish in a tie for 12th place individually with a three-round total of 230.
Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said Brown's performance at the Big 12 Tournament was a great sign for the future of Husker golf.
"Elli was just solid throughout the tournament," Krapfl said. "She was not spectacular and she still finished just one shot out of a top 10 finish at her first conference tournament. She has a ton of potential and she has some things she needs to work on, but with her on our team for the next three years, I am excited about what lies ahead."
Brown led a group of four Huskers who produced final-round scores of 79 or better to help Nebraska hold on to a seventh-place finish in the tournament, the same place the Huskers started the day. NU's seventh-place showing was a three spot improvement over last year's 10th-place Big 12 finish.
"After sitting in a tie for third place after the first round, we are disappointed with a seventh-place finish," Krapfl said. "But in the grand scheme of things, we improved three places over last year's finish, and I think we played better golf than we had been playing for much of the spring, so those things are positive."
All five Huskers finished in the top 40, headed by Brown's 12th-place performance. Senior Merynn Ito played her best round of the tournament and NU's top round of the day by finishing with a 77. The Aiea, Hawaii, native closed the tournament in a tie for 30th at 237. Sophomore Chrissie McArdle finished just one shot back of Ito at 238 in a tie for 33rd, after a final-round 79.
Juniors Sara Sackett and Jackie Beste finished in a tie for 38th at 241. Sackett, a native of Cambridge, Neb., added a strong final round by firing a 78, while Beste closed the tournament with an 81.
Oklahoma State's Annie Thurman-Young, who won the tournament by 10 strokes, ran away with the individual title by finishing with a four-under par 212 after rounds of 70, 71 and 71. Thurman-Young's clutch performance allowed the Cowgirls to hold off Texas for the team title by just one stroke. OSU entered the third round with a one stroke edge, and both teams produced identical team scores of 298 on Sunday. The Cowgirls closed the tournament with a three-round total of 900, while the host Longhorns finished at 901. Baylor took third place with a three-round score of 914, while Missouri finished fourth at 923.
Nebraska will discover whether it will earn an NCAA Regional Tournament bid tomorrow at 2 p.m., when the invitations are sent out by the NCAA Selection Committee.
"I would say we have a 50-50 chance," Krapfl said. "Obviously, I think we should be in the tournament, but unfortunately we have put ourselves in a position to let the committee decide, and I am not on the committee."
Big 12 Championships
April 22-24
University of Texas
The University of Texas Golf Course
6,323 Yards, Par 72
Team Standings (Final Results)
1. Oklahoma State - 295-307-298-900
2. Texas - 297-306-298-901
3. Baylor - 305-314-295-914
4. Missouri - 306-313-304-923
5. Texas A&M - 310-316-304-930
6. Texas Tech - 305-323-304-932
7. Nebraska - 305-324-313-942
8. Kansas State - 320-314-317-951
9. Kansas - 311-331-310-952
10. Oklahoma - 314-328-312-954
11. Colorado - 307-323-325-955
12. Iowa State - 317-314-326-957
Nebraska Individual Results
T12. Elli Brown - 74-77-79-230
T30. Merynn Ito - 78-82-77-237
T33. Chrissie McArdle - 76-83-79-238
T38. Jackie Beste - 77-83-81-241
T38. Sara Sackett - 81-82-78-241