Ito Caps Career with NCAA Bid to Lead Improved Huskers

The Nebraska women's golf team began climbing the ladder back to national prominence during the 2004-05 season.

The Huskers just missed a team bid to the NCAA Central Regional Championships after finishing seventh at the Big 12 Tournament in Austin, Texas. The seventh-place showing was a three-spot improvement over NU's 2003-04 league finish.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl, who completed her 18th season at the helm for the Huskers in 2004-05, said NU's climb in the conference tournament standings could be a sign for future improvements in the powerful Big 12.

"In the grand scheme of things, we improved three places over our 2004 team finish, and I think we played better golf than we had been playing for much of the spring," Krapfl said. "Those things are definitely positives, and with the number of talented young players we have returning to our lineup, I am excited about the future of the Nebraska women's golf program."

Along with the improved performance by the Huskers as a team, senior Merynn Ito closed her career by representing Nebraska as an individual at the NCAA Central Regional in Lubbock, Texas.

The native of Aiea, Hawaii, closed a solid four-year career with the Huskers by making her third trip to regional competition. She finished in a tie for 42nd place in the 107-player field.

"Earning an NCAA Regional bid was a really nice reward for a player who had a good season and a wonderful career at Nebraska," Krapfl said. "Merynn has meant a great deal to Nebraska golf over the past four years both on and off the course, and we will certainly miss her."

Ito, a captain for the Huskers, led Nebraska throughout the season with a career-low 76.57 stroke average, which was three strokes lower than her average from her freshman campaign. She also showed the ability to produce low rounds by tying the school record with a career-low 68 at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational in Kiawah Island, S.C., Nov. 1. She added two rounds of 69 during the season to establish herself as NU's top player.

Along with her performance on the course, Ito continued her excellence in the classroom. A three-time academic All-Big 12 pick, Ito finished her career as an eight-time selection to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

While Ito led Nebraska with experience and consistency, a trio of young Huskers emerged as the foundation of NU's future.

True freshman Elli Brown took collegiate courses by storm and continued to lower her scores throughout the season. Brown made a splash with a fifth-place finish in Nebraska's season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course in Lincoln Sept. 19-20.

After the impressive start, Brown did not record another top 40 finish the rest of the fall, but came back strong in the spring. She led a star-studded field that included the nation's top four golfers at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational March 13. The native of Meridian, Idaho, fired a career-low 70 in the opening round, before finishing in a tie for 18th.

Brown added a career-low 228 over three rounds at the Mountain View Collegiate, including an even par 72 in the final round, before finishing in a tie for 25th at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic in Norman, Okla., to close the regular season.

Brown ended her rookie campaign with a flourish by shooting her way into a tie for 12th as NU's top finisher at the Big 12 Championships in Austin.

"Elli was just solid throughout the Big 12 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."

Overall, Brown finished the season with a 79.14 stroke average, which ranked third on the team and was nearly a full stroke better than Ito's stroke average as a rookie in 2001-02.

Brown was not the only freshman who made an impact in Nebraska's lineup in 2004-05. Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart produced the Huskers' top finish at the Chip-N Club Invitational, helping NU to a team title. The native of Vermillion, S.D., posted a three-round score of 229 in the first collegiate tournament of her career to lead NU with a career-best third-place showing.

Stewart added top-40 finishes at the Price's "Give 'Em Five" Invitational in October and the Mountain View Collegiate in March with a career-best 226.

While the two freshmen made strong first impressions on the Nebraska lineup, sophomore Chrissie McArdle established herself as an emerging leader for the Huskers.

McArdle, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., improved her consistency from her solid freshman campaign, posting eight top-30 finishes in 11 tournaments, including an eighth-place showing at the Chip-N Club Invitational and a tie for 10th at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational, when she fired a career-low 221. McArdle's performance in South Carolina matched her career best with a three-round total of 221 and included a career-best 71 in the final round.

Overall, McArdle dropped her stroke average more than two strokes from her freshman campaign, finishing at 77.56 on the year to trail only Ito among the Huskers.

Juniors Jackie Beste, Sara Sackett and Chelsea Gehring also contributed to Nebraska's lineup throughout the season and will add to the Huskers' experienced roster in 2005-06. Senior Stephanie Ruiz will also return after redshirting in 2004-05 to bring more depth, experience and leadership to next year's Husker squad.

"We were a really young team, but I think we were a better team than we were in 2003-04, and I think that showed in our results," Krapfl said. "Next year, we are going to have a strong mix of talent, experience and youth, which should give us a chance to keep climbing. That is definitely what we are hoping to accomplish next season."