Huskers in Third at Big 12 Championships

Lincoln - Sophomore Elli Brown led the Nebraska women's golf team with an opening-round 74 to help the Huskers to a tie for third at 307 after the opening-round of the Big 12 Women's Golf Championships at the Country Club of Lincoln on Monday.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers were in good position for the start of the second day of the tournament, but would have liked to see an even better score on the opening day.

"We did some really good things," Krapfl said. "Elli was solid but the team is disappointed in their score, and I feel good about the attitudes going into the second and third rounds because the girls want to play better."

Individually for the Huskers, Stephanie Ruiz and Allison Stewart produced solid opening rounds of 77 to close the day in a tie for 16th place. Sara Sackett added a 79 to sit in a tie for 32nd, while Chrissie McArdle managed an 81 in a tie for 43rd to round out the Husker contingent.

Brown, who fired a two-over par 74 in the first round, sits alone in fourth place, five strokes behind the individual leader Ashley Knoll from Texas A&M. Knoll, the third-ranked golfer in the nation coming into the tournament, put together a three-under par 69 on the the par-72, 6,167 layout at the Country Club of Lincoln.

Knoll finished the first day of the three-day event with a three-stroke lead over Texas Tech's Gloriana Soto, who managed an even-par 72.

Jennifer Karr fired the top score for Oklahoma State, sitting in third place after the opening 18 holes with a one-over par 73. Karr led a group of three Cowgirl golfers in the top 10, as Candie Herrera is in a tie for fifth place after shooting an opening-round 75, while Pernilla Lindberg sits in a tie for 10th at 76. Karin Kinnerud added a 77 to finish the first round in a tie for 16th for the Cowgirls.

The consistent scores from the Cowgirls gave OSU a one-stroke lead over Texas A&M in the team standings at 301. The Aggies closed day one at 302. 

Texas Tech and Iowa State rounded out the top half of the 12-team field in a tie for fifth at 309, while Kansas State led the second tier in seventh place with a 312.

Missouri (313), Texas (314), Colorado (315), Kansas (316) and Oklahoma (317) round out the rest of the field, as all 12 teams are still within striking distance of the leaders after the opening round.

Krapfl said the course was challenging but the playing conditions were excellent to open the tournament on Monday.

"Overall, for a championship venue, the course is in good shape," Krapfl said. "The teams really like this course because it is a good test. It's a championship course suited for this type of play."

Big 12 Women's Golf Championships
Country Club of Lincoln (Par 72, 6,167 Yards)
April 17-19, 2006

Team Standings

1 Oklahoma State +13 F   +13 301 301 2 Texas A&M University +14 F   +14 302 302 T3 Nebraska, U. of +19 F   +19 307 307 T3 Baylor +19 F   +19 307 307 T5 Texas Tech Univ +21 F   +21 309 309 T5 Iowa State Univ. +21 F   +21 309 309 7 Kansas State Univ. +24 F   +24 312 312 8 Missouri, U. of +25 F   +25 313 313 9 Texas +26 F   +26 314 314 10 Colorado, U. of +27 F   +27 315 315 11 Kansas, U. of +28 F   +28 316 316 12 Oklahoma +29 F   +29 317 317

 

Individual Top 20

1 - Ashley Knoll Texas A&M University -3 F -3 69 69 2 - Gloriana Soto Texas Tech Univ E F E 72 72 3 - Jennifer Karr Oklahoma State +1 F +1 73 73 4 - Elli Brown Nebraska, U. of +2 F +2 74 74 T5 - Julia Best (10) Texas +3 F +3 75 75 T5 - Candie Herrera Oklahoma State +3 F +3 75 75 T5 - Allison Martin (10) Baylor +3 F +3 75 75 T5 - Anna Rehnholm (10) Baylor +3 F +3 75 75 T5 - Jessica Shin (10) Iowa State Univ. +3 F +3 75 75 T10 - Megan Dowdy Texas Tech Univ +4 F +4 76 76 T10 - Katy Heffel (10) Kansas State Univ. +4 F +4 76 76 T10 - Ellen Hoeper (10) Missouri, U. of +4 F +4 76 76 T10 - Sarah Kierl Kansas, U. of +4 F +4 76 76 T10 - Pernilla Lindberg Oklahoma State +4 F +4 76 76 T10 - Stephanie Wavro (10) Missouri, U. of +4 F +4 76 76 T16 - Christi Athas (10) Iowa State Univ. +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Kendall Dye (10) Oklahoma +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Brittany Givilancz (10) Texas +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Lauren Johnson Texas A&M University +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Meredith Jones (10) Baylor +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Karin Kinnerud Oklahoma State +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Brenda Norris Texas A&M University +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Karly Pinder (10) Iowa State Univ. +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Helene Robert (10) Kansas State Univ. +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Stephanie Ruiz Nebraska, U. of +5 F +5 77 77 T16 - Allison Stewart Nebraska, U. of +5 F +5 77 77