Columbus, Ohio - The Nebraska women's golf team overcame a battle with the flu bug to fire Sunday's third-best round to finish in eighth place at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. Senior Elli Brown led Nebraska's charge on Sunday with a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for 14th place individually.
Brown and sophomore JC Stevenson, who added a final-round 76 to finish in a tie for 16th, powered the Huskers to a 308 over the final 18 holes. Nebraska's round trailed only Kent State's 292 and Michigan State's 304 among the 12 teams in the tournament on Sunday. Kent State captured the team title with a three-round total of 885, easily outdistancing the hosts from Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who produced a final-round 310, settled for second place 28 strokes behind Kent State on the 6,228-yard layout on their home Scarlet Course. Michigan State added a third-place finish at 917.
Nebraska climbed two spots on Sunday's final leaderboard, the biggest upward move by any team in the tournament over the final 18 holes, but still settled for an eighth-place finish at 951.
"We played better today but we still have a lot of areas we need to improve in heading into next week's Big 12 Tournament," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "Most importantly, we need to get healthy and hope we feel better on the course next week."
Freshman Mary Kate Bird withdrew from the tournament because of illness on Saturday, and senior Allison Stewart played all three rounds of the tournament despite battling the flu. Stewart settled for rounds of 85, 85 and 82 to finish in a tie for 64th place at 252.
Brown stepped up in a big way to lead the Huskers. The senior All-Big 12 performer from Meridian, Idaho, continued to improve her scores throughout the tournament, closing the event at 232 (81-77-74) in a tie for 14th place after entering the final round in a tie for 25th.
Stevenson, a native of Grand Island, Neb., also played well with a 76 on Sunday to finish one stroke back of Brown at 233 in a tie for 16th. Stevenson jumped four spots on the final leaderboard after entering the final 18 holes in a tie for 20th.
Fellow sophomore Kate White vaulted eight spots on Sunday from 41st to a tie for 33rd with a 77. White closed the tournament with a three-round total of 240.
Sophomore Charlotte Wendner provided Sunday's final team score in the count-four event with an 81 to finish in a tie for 53rd at 246.
Nebraska will hope to get healthy over the next several days before heading to Stillwater, Okla., for the Big 12 Championships April 25-27.
Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational
The Scarlet Course
Par 72, 6,228 Yards
Columbus, Ohio (April 19-20, 2008)
Final Team Standings
1. Kent State - 294-299-292-885
2. Ohio State - 300-303-310-913
3. Michigan State - 303-310-304-917
4. Northwestern - 304-303-316-923
5. Wisconsin - 310-311-303-924
6. Penn State - 313-319-632-314-946
7. Eastern Michigan - 312-328-310-950
8. Nebraska - 321-322-308-951
9. Iowa - 315-325-313-953
10. Illinois - 313-328-320-961
11. Minnesota - 313-332-318-963
12. Toledo - 314-329-322-965
Final Individual Standings
1. Sara Brown, Michigan State - 70-73-73-216
2. Carling Coffing, Ohio State, 67-77-74-218
3. Kira Meixner, Kent State - 72-75-72-219
4. Kirby Dreher, Kent State - 75-74-74-223
5. Sara Lester, Penn State - 73-75-76-224
6. Tara Delaney, Kent State - 80-75-70-225
7. Gemma Webster, Ohio State - 76-73-78-227
T8. Laura Kueny, Michigan State, 77-76-75-228
T8. Carly Werwie, Wisconsin - 74-76-78-228
10. Katie Trachok, Northwestern - 76-74-79-229
Nebraska Individuals
T14. Elli Brown, 81-77-74-232
T16. JC Stevenson, 76-81-76-233
T33. Kate White, 81-82-77-240
T53. Charlotte Wendner, 83-82-81-246
T64. Allison Stewart, 85-85-82-252
T70. *Megan Place, 92-88-82-262
Mary Kate Bird, Withdrew
*competing as an individual outside of team lineup