Orlando, Fla. - The Nebraska women's golf team had its 2006 fall season come to an end with losses to No. 1 Georgia and No. 8 Purdue at the NGCA Match Play Championships at the Eagle Creek Golf Club on Friday.
The 16th-seeded Huskers opened the tournament with current national No. 1 Georgia, who entered the NGCA Match Play competition with a perfect 225-0 record on the season.
The Bulldogs proved their No. 1 ranking to the Huskers by winning four of the five individual head-to-head matches. Nebraska junior Allison Stewart halved her match with Georgia's Garrett Phillips to make the final 4 1/2 to 1/2.
Husker freshman JC Stevenson played a solid match against Georgia's Taylor Leon at the No. 1 spot. Leon, who finished in a tie for 16th at the 2006 NCAA Championships, snuck by Stevenson 2 up, as the match went down to final hole.
Another NU freshman, Kate White, was all square with UGA's Whitney Wade through eight holes before Wade finally took control of the match on the back nine. Wade finished 29th at last year's NCAA Championships and defeated White 4 and 2 on Friday morning.
The Bulldogs' Mallory Hetzel defeated Nebraska's Elli Brown 6 and 5 in the No. 3 spot, while Georgia's Alina Lee knocked off Husker senior Chrissie McArdle 4 and 2 in the No. 4 position.
The loss to the Bulldogs dropped the Huskers into the consolation bracket to play the defending NGCA Match Play champions from Purdue. The Boilermakers opened the tournament with a loss to Arkansas in the opening round, before rebounding for a 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 team victory over Nebraska.
Stewart played well for the Huskers again in her second match of the day, powering past Purdue's Stephanie Oukeo 5 and 3 in the No. 5 position.
In the No. 4 spot, McArdle appeared on the brink of a victory over Whitney Frykman, leading through 14 holes before Frykman pulled square and halved the match.
The loss to Purdue knocked Nebraska out of the double-elimination tournament, ending the Huskers' fall season.
Despite a pair of match play losses, Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers enjoyed plenty of success during the first half of their season.
In the pivotal match, Brown lost 2 and 1 to Myrte Eikenaar at the No. 3 spot. Stevenson fell 3 and 1 to Maria Hernandez at the top spot, while Andrea Dunagan (Carlson) lost 6 and 4 to Christel Boeljon to give Purdue the victory.
"I think this tournament was a great way for us to end the fall," Krapfl said. "We went head-to-head with the best team in the country this morning and then played another great team this afternoon and hung right with them down to the final hole. We played some very good teams who played good golf today."
Krapfl said she has been pleased with the progress of her team throughout the fall.
"I think we have seen some really good things throughout the fall and we are showing the kind of progression you want to have," Krapfl said. "Obviously for us, we want to peak in April and May, not in November. We know we have a lot of things to work on, but we have really grown as individuals and as a team through the first three months of the season."
Nebraska returns to competition to open its spring season at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 19-20.