Lubbock, Texas - Nebraska women's golfer Merynn Ito closed her collegiate career with a four-over par 76 to finish in a tie for 42nd place with a three-round total of 231 at the NCAA Central Regional Championships at The Rawls Course on Saturday.
Ito, a senior from Aiea, Hawaii, climbed seven spots up the leaderboard with a solid round of golf to cap a strong career for the Huskers. Competing in the third NCAA Regional of her career, Ito finished with rounds of 73, 82 and 76 on the 6,328-yard, par-72 layout of Texas Tech University's home course in Lubbock.
Auburn's Diana Ramage surged to the individual title with a sizzling five-under par 67 in the final round. Ramage, who shot the top two rounds of the tournament with Saturday's 67 and Thursday's 68, overcame a five-over par 77 on Friday to finish the 54-hole event with a four-under par 212. Ramage won the title by a whopping seven strokes over Arizona State's Louise Stahle, who finished with a three-over par 219. Stahle entered the tournament as the nation's top-ranked golfer.
University of Texas golfer Lisa Ferrero, who was the leader entering the final round, settled for a fourth-place finish at 222, 10 strokes behind Ramage. Ferrero managed a final-round 79. Lee Ann Pace from Tulsa finished third with a five-over par 221.
Ramage's sparkling individual performance helped Auburn claim the team title in a furious team competition. The Tigers entered the final day of competition tied with Baylor, Texas A&M and Missouri atop the team standings. Five other teams entered the third round of competition within five strokes of the lead.
Ramage's powerful final round helped Auburn finish at 896 over the three rounds, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Texas A&M. Missouri took third with a 905 team total, while Arizona State claimed fourth place at 906. Tulsa and Purdue tied for sixth place with identical totals of 908, while Michigan State (909) and Arkansas (915) rounded out the top eight team finishers in the 24-team tournament.
Those eight teams advanced to the NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore., May 17-20. Texas, which entered the final round just one stroke out of first place, failed to advance, finishing 20 strokes behind the champions from Auburn with a 916.
The Longhorns' Lisa Ferrero did earn one of two individual berths to the NCAA Championships from the Central Region as the top individual from one of the non-qualifying teams. LSU's Brooke Shelton defeated Michigan's Brianna Broderick in a playoff to earn the other individual berth to nationals. Shelton and Broderick finished the tournament in a tie for sixth overall at 224.