St. George, Utah. - The Nebraska women's golf team fired Wednesday's best round on its way to a second-place finish at the 13-team BYU Dixie Classic. The Huskers' final-round 295 helped them shave nine strokes off BYU's lead over the final 18 holes on the Entrada at Snow Canyon course.
Nebraska finished with a three-round total of 894 to close the 54-hole tournament five strokes behind the host Cougars, who finished at 889 after managing a 304 in the final round. BYU entered Wednesday with a 14-stroke lead on the Huskers. NU finished 19 strokes ahead of third-place Colorado State (913) and 28 strokes in front of fourth-place Texas Tech (922).
Sophomores Charlotte Wendner and Kate White led the Husker charge throughout the tournament by finishing in a tie for second place individually. Wendner, a native of Bjarred, Sweden, fired the best round of her career on Wednesday with a one-under-par 71 on the 6,029-yard, par-72 layout at the Entrada at Snow Canyon.
Wendner's final round followed on the heels of her previous career-best round over NU's second 18 holes with a 73 on Tuesday, after opening the tournament with a 78. Her three-round total of 222 smashed her previous career best of 230 set over the weekend at the 2008 Mountain View Collegiate in Arizona.
White also produced her best scores of the season in Utah, matching Wendner at 222 after a final-round 74. The native of Waukegan, Ill., added consistent rounds of 73 and 75 on Tuesday to finish seven strokes behind individual champion Juli Erekson from BYU, who closed at 215.
All six Huskers who made the trip to Utah played their way into the top 25 of the final individual standings. Senior Elli Brown just missed a top-10 showing with a final-round 74 to finish in 11th place at 227. It was Brown's eighth top-20 effort of the season.
Freshman Mary Kate Bird, playing as an individual outside of NU's lineup, ended a successful week in a tie for 15th place at 229, after managing an 80 over the final 18 holes.
Sophomore JC Stevenson climbed the leaderboard on Wednesday with a final-round 76 to finish in a tie for 18th place at 231 for her sixth top-20 finish of the season. Senior Allison Stewart rounded out the Husker contingent with a final-round 79 to close in a tie for 22nd place at 234.
"We played well again today and we were able to pull within two strokes going into the final two holes, so we gave BYU a good run," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "Charlotte played extremely well today and overall she had a very good trip over the last two tournaments. It was also good to see strong efforts from Kate White and Mary Kate Bird. Everybody has stepped up their game and we'll see if we can continue to build confidence heading into the final stretch of our season."
Nebraska will conclude its regular-season tournament schedule with the Ohio State Spring Invitational April 19-20 in Columbus, Ohio, before competing at the Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Okla., April 25-27.
BYU Dixie Classic
Entrada at Snow Canyon Golf Club
Par 72, 6,029 Yards
St. George, Utah (April 1-2, 2008)
Final Team Standings
1. BYU - 288-297-304-889
2. Nebraska - 300-299--295-894
3. Colorado State - 294-314-305-913
4. Texas Tech - 304-319--299-922
5. Oral Roberts - 308-315-317-940
6. New Mexico State - 309-321-315-945
7. Portland State - 312-314-321-947
8. Wyoming - 321-319-318-958
9. BYU (B) - 324-329-311-964
10. Weber State - 315-326-326-967
11. Utah Valley State - 347-340-343-1,030
12. Idaho State - 353-354-344-1,051
13. Southern Utah - 342-357-354-1,053
Final Individual Standings
1. Juli Erekson, BYU - 71-68-76-215
T2. Kate White, Nebraska - 73-75-74-222
T2. Charlotte Wendner, Nebraska - 78-73-71-222
T2. Shayla Forsey, BYU (B) - 74-73-75-222
5. Natalia Jimenez, BYU - 69-74-80-223
T6. Suterra Chanachai, New Mexico State - 75-73-76-224
T6. Cecilia Edlund, Colorado State - 69-80-75-224
T8. Kasey Claussen, Colorado State - 73-78-75-226
T8. Robyn Scott, Texas Tech - 73-78-75-226
T8. Stefanie Ferguson, Colorado State - 72-79-75-226
Nebraska Individuals
T2. Kate White, 73-75-74-222
T2. Charlotte Wendner, 78-73-71-222
11. Elli Brown, 76-77-74-227
*T15. Mary Kate Bird, 74-75-80-229
T18. JC Stevenson, 81-74-76-231
T22. Allison Stewart, 73-82-79-234
*competing as an individual outside of team lineup