Verona, Wis. - The Nebraska women's golf team stormed the University Ridge Golf Course for the best team round of the tournament, firing a seven-over-par 295 to vault from ninth into a tie for third on the final day of the Badger Invitational.
Nebraska's final-round 295 was seven strokes better than the next-best team round in the tournament, which was produced by champion Indiana with a 302 on Monday. The Hoosiers finished the 54-hole event at 922, 10 strokes ahead of the hosts from Wisconsin (932) and 12 strokes ahead of Nebraska (934).
Nebraska tied fellow Big 12 foe Oklahoma, which entered Monday in second place before watching the Huskers erase a 17-stroke advantage over the final 18 holes. The Huskers and Sooners finished four shots ahead of fifth-place Louisville (938) in the final team standings.
The Huskers' impressive team score came despite more poor scoring conditions on the 6,175-yard, par 72 layout at the University Ridge Golf Course. After playing through 11 straight hours of rain on Sunday, rain and poor course conditions delayed Monday morning's start by 30 minutes, while temperatures in the low 50s and winds gusting to 20 mph made for continuous challenges.
"We played really well today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "I just can't say enough about the way our team played, especially our freshmen. They just played great. I can't recall ever starting a season with these tough of playing conditions, and for two freshmen to start their careers in these conditions and play this well really says something about their ability."
Husker freshmen JC Stevenson (Grand Island, Neb.) and Kate White (Waukegan, Ill.) fueled Nebraska's climb up the leaderboard. Stevenson fired Monday's top individual round in the tournament with her even par 72. Stevenson jumped from a tie for 31st into a tie for 12th to close the first collegiate tournament of her career with a three-round score of 234.
White added a strong round of her own with a one-over-par 73, to jump 18 spots in the individual standings from a tie for 37th into a tie for 19th. White closed her first collegiate tournament with a three-round total of 236.
Along with the impressive showings by the two NU freshmen, junior Elli Brown continued her solid play in the tournament with a one-over-par 73 to lead all Huskers with a fifth-place finish.With a three-round total of 228, the Meridian, Idaho, native finished just three strokes behind co-champions Katie Elliott from Wisconsin and Adrienne White from Louisville, who both closed the 54-hole event at 225. Indiana's Elaine Harris (226) took third, while Kansas State's Michelle Regan (227) finished fourth.
"All three of them, Elli, JC and Kate, were focused on hitting the fairway and hitting the green today," Krapfl said. "They really didn't do anything spectacular throughout the course of their rounds. They just played steady, solid golf all day. They kept their composure and they put up some great scores for the conditions."
Senior Chrisse McArdle and junior Allison Stewart also finished among the top 30 individuals in the 68-player tournament. McArdle managed a five-over-par 77 on Monday to finish in a tie for 27th with a three-round score of 239. Stewart, playing as an unattached individual, added a final-round 80 to tie McArdle. Sophomore Megan Place rounded out the Husker contingent with an 80 of her own to finish in a tie for 36th at 242.
Nebraska will continue its fall tournament schedule by playing host to the Chip-N Club Invitational at Yankee Hill Golf Club next week, beginning with two rounds on Monday, Sept. 18 at 9 a.m. The final round of the 54-hole event will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 8 a.m.
Team Leader Board Course:University Ridge Golf Course: Badger Womens Invt. Par 72 - 6175 yardscurrent
position team scoring rounds total
score to par thru today 1 2 3 1 Indiana University +58 F +14 313 307 302 922 2 Wisconsin, U. of +68 F +17 311 316 305 932 T3 Nebraska, U. of +70 F +7 321 318 295 934 T3 Oklahoma +70 F +24 306 316 312 934 5 Louisville, Univ. of +74 F +24 312 314 312 938 6 Memphis +78 F +23 314 317 311 942 7 Iowa State Univ. +79 F +24 315 316 312 943 8 Kansas State Univ. +82 F +26 323 309 314 946 9 Illinois State Univ. +85 F +24 318 319 312 949 10 Minnesota, U. of +99 F +25 325 325 313 963 11 Georgetown University +138 F +43 331 340 331 1002
Player Leader Board * player is participating as an individual rather than as a team member. Course:University Ridge Golf Course: Badger Womens Invt. Par 72 - 6175 yards
position player team scoring rounds total
score current start to par thru today 1 2 3
T1 T3 Katie Elliott (5) Wisconsin, U. of +9 F +2 74 77 74 225 T1 2 Adrienne White (1B) Louisville, Univ. of +9 F +6 71 76 78 225 3 T3 Elaine Harris (1B) Indiana University +10 F +3 74 77 75 226 4 1 Michelle Regan (9) Kansas State Univ. +11 F +9 75 71 81 227 5 T8 Elli Brown (9) Nebraska, U. of +12 F +1 78 77 73 228 T6 7 Kellye Belcher (1A) Indiana University +13 F +4 77 76 76 229 T6 6 Kelly Jacques (1B) Oklahoma +13 F +5 74 78 77 229 8 T16 Jeana Dahl (6B) Wisconsin, U. of +15 F +2 80 77 74 231 9 T11 Kendall Dye (2) Oklahoma +16 F +4 78 78 76 232 T10 T11 Laura Nochta (2) Indiana University +17 F +5 80 76 77 233 T10 T3 Pennapa Pulsawath (5) Iowa State Univ. +17 F +10 76 75 82 233 T12 T21 Anita Gahir (3) Indiana University +18 F +2 82 78 74 234 T12 T8 Kathryn O'Rourke (5) Memphis +18 F +7 81 74 79 234 T12 T31 JC Stevenson (11) Nebraska, U. of +18 F E 80 82 72 234 T15 T18 Isabel Alvarez (6A) Wisconsin, U. of +19 F +5 77 81 77 235 T15 T18 Dawn-Marie Conaty (6A) Memphis +19 F +5 78 80 77 235 T15 T11 Tiffany Hockensmith (9) Illinois State Univ. +19 F +7 81 75 79 235 T15 T8 Staci Smoot (1A) Oklahoma +19 F +8 77 78 80 235 T19 T25 Kendra Hanson (6A) Iowa State Univ. +20 F +3 79 82 75 236 T19 T11 Rachel Larson (6B) Memphis +20 F +8 75 81 80 236 T19 T21 Helene Robert (10B) Kansas State Univ. +20 F +4 81 79 76 236 T19 T37 Kate White (12) Nebraska, U. of +20 F +1 81 82 73 236 T23 T21 Christi Athas (6B) Iowa State Univ. +21 F +5 77 83 77 237 T23 T16 Jenny Calkins (1A) Louisville, Univ. of +21 F +8 78 79 80 237 T23 T21 Stacey Miller (10B) Illinois State Univ. +21 F +5 82 78 77 237 26 T25 Christine Herzog (14) Minnesota, U. of +22 F +5 81 80 77 238 T27 T25 Cindy LaCrosse (2) Louisville, Univ. of +23 F +6 83 78 78 239 T27 T31 Chrissie McArdle (10B) Nebraska, U. of +23 F +5 82 80 77 239 T27 20 Allison Stewart (13) * Nebraska, U. of +23 F +8 79 80 80 239 T27 T41 Stacey Tate (7) Memphis +23 F +3 80 84 75 239 31 T31 Karly Pinder (7) Iowa State Univ. +24 F +6 83 79 78 240 T32 T31 Britt Knutson (11) Illinois State Univ. +25 F +7 76 86 79 241 T32 T11 Anne Martin (13) Minnesota, U. of +25 F +13 78 78 85 241 T32 T31 Hailey Mireles (10A) Kansas State Univ. +25 F +7 83 79 79 241 T32 T25 Kelsey Verbeten (7) Wisconsin, U. of +25 F +8 80 81 80 241 T36 T37 Megan Goodwin (14) * Oklahoma +26 F +7 82 81 79 242 T36 T31 Megan Place (10A) Nebraska, U. of +26 F +8 83 79 80 242 T36 T41 Kali Quick (11) Kansas State Univ. +26 F +6 84 80 78 242 T36 T37 Jaclyn Stelzer (3) Oklahoma +26 F +7 77 86 79 242 T40 T52 Cristina Gonzalez (4) Louisville, Univ. of +27 F +4 83 84 76 243 T40 T25 Amanda Henry (3) Louisville, Univ. of +27 F +10 80 81 82 243 T40 T52 Young Na Lee (16B) Minnesota, U. of +27 F +4 83 84 76 243 T43 T52 Hilary Anderson (12) Illinois State Univ. +28 F +5 80 87 77 244 T43 T37 Jill Ries (15) * Wisconsin, U. of +28 F +9 74 89 81 244 45 T41 Cameron Barber (8) Memphis +29 F +9 82 82 81 245 46 T41 Jessica Shin (8) Iowa State Univ. +30 F +10 84 80 82 246 T47 T47 Kelli Berns (16A) * Minnesota, U. of +31 F +10 83 82 82 247 T47 T49 Samantha Braschler (15) Minnesota, U. of +31 F +9 83 83 81 247 T47 T49 Katie Dwyer (14) Georgetown University +31 F +9 80 86 81 247 T47 T41 Chrissy Pachuta (16B) * Louisville, Univ. of +31 F +11 80 84 83 247 51 T25 Laura Harris (10A) Illinois State Univ. +32 F +15 81 80 87 248 52 T41 Heather Herrick (8) Wisconsin, U. of +33 F +13 83 81 85 249 53 T49 Jenna Winokur (13) Georgetown University +35 F +13 84 82 85 251 T54 T47 Ann Marie Sztukowski (17) * Wisconsin, U. of +37 F +16 76 89 88 253 T54 64 Camille Williams (18B) * Louisville, Univ. of +37 F +3 87 91 75 253 56 55 Kate Wierwill (17) * Wisconsin, U. of +38 F +12 85 85 84 254 T57 T56 Katy Heffel (12) Kansas State Univ. +39 F +12 86 85 84 255 T57 T61 Sydney Liles (16A) Minnesota, U. of +39 F +7 88 88 79 255 59 T59 Heidi Hinners (18B) * Wisconsin, U. of +40 F +11 87 86 83 256 60 T56 Joyce Trus (4) Oklahoma +41 F +14 89 82 86 257 T61 63 Amber Lindgren (4) Indiana University +42 F +9 89 88 81 258 T61 58 Madeleine Nguyen (17) * Georgetown University +42 F +14 83 89 86 258 63 T59 Stephanie Cope (15) Georgetown University +43 F +14 86 87 86 259 64 T61 Maggie Ward (16B) Georgetown University +50 F +18 81 95 90 266 65 65 Morgan Moon (18B) * Kansas State Univ. +51 F +16 85 94 88 267 66 66 Danielle Com (18A) * Louisville, Univ. of +75 F +26 95 98 98 291 - - Chelsea Curtis (16A) Georgetown University - F +7 D 85 79 - - - Beth Weinstein (18A) * Wisconsin, U. of - F +9 W 85 81 -