Ito Earns NCAA Regional Bid

Lincoln - Nebraska women's golfer Merynn Ito earned an individual bid in the NCAA Central Regional Championships the selection committee announced on Monday, April 25, but her Husker teammates will not join her when NCAA competition gets underway at the Rawls Golf Course in Lubbock, Texas, May 5-7.

Ito, a senior from Aiea, Hawaii, was Nebraska's top golfer in 2004-05, producing a 76.53 stroke average through 32 rounds of fall and spring competition.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said Ito's regional berth was a fitting reward for a senior who had an outstanding career for the Huskers.

"It's exciting for Merynn," Krapfl said. "Earning a regional bid is really a nice reward for a player who had a good season and a wonderful career at Nebraska."

While Krapfl was excited about Ito's invitation, she was disappointed the Huskers were unable to earn a trip to regionals as a team.

"We put ourselves in this position, so we have no one to blame but ourselves," Krapfl said.  "Our results were not as consistent as they needed to be throughout the season.  Hopefully we will learn from the experience of this season and get better next season."

On the season, Ito produced four top-10 individual finishes in 11 tournaments, including a season-best second-place showing at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C., Nov. 1-2.  In that tournament, Ito tied the Nebraska school record by firing a career-low 68 in the second round, while adding an opening-round 74 and a final-round 73 to close with a career-best 215.

Ito opened the season with a fourth-place finish at Nebraska's Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 19-20, while adding a tie for sixth place at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 21-22.  She also finished in a tie for eighth at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., March 26-27. 

One of Nebraska's most consistent golfers throughout her four-year career, Ito has shown the ability to go low in her final seven tournaments.  During that span, Ito has produced three rounds of better than 70, including a final-round 69 at the Mountain View Collegiate and an opening-round 69 at the Central District Invitational.

Most recently, Ito tied for 30th place at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas, April 22-24, which helped the Huskers to a seventh-place team finish in the 12-team field.

As a sophomore in 2002-03, Ito helped the Huskers qualify for the NCAA Championships by finishing in a tie for 17th at the NCAA Central Regional at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln.  Ito fired rounds of 77, 71 and 80 to finish at 228 in her last NCAA Regional competition.  Neither Ito nor the Huskers qualified for regional action in 2003-04.  As a freshman in 2001-02, Ito tied for 86th at the NCAA Central Regional Championships.

Practice rounds at the NCAA Central Regional begin at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 4, before first-round action starts on Thursday, May 5 on 7:30 a.m.  Action will continue on Friday, May 6, at 7:30 a.m., before concluding with the final round on Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 a.m.

Ito will join individual competitors Louise Kenney (Iowa State) and Emily Milberger (Oklahoma) at the Central Regional, along with team qualifiers Auburn, Arizona State, New Mexico, LSU, Wake Forest, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Tulsa, TCU, SMU, Purdue, Michigan State, Kent State, Baylor, Texas A&M, South Florida, Notre Dame, Long Island and the hosts from Texas Tech.