Lawrence, Kan. - The Nebraska women's golf team finished strong and climbed from third into a tie for first in the final round before losing a two-hole playoff to Oral Roberts at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at the Alvamar Golf Course on Tuesday.
The Huskers, who entered Tuesday's final 18 holes four shots back of Oral Roberts and two shots behind Illinois State, made up the gap with solid efforts from their top four golfers, as each finished among the top 15 individuals in the tournament.
Kate White produced her second straight top-10 individual finish to open the season with a final-round 78 to close at 229 in a tie for fourth place. White, a junior from Waukegan, Ill., was joined in the top 10 by Husker true freshman Natalie Gleadall. The native of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, managed a final-round 79 to close the 54-hole event in a tie for seventh at 232.
But it was junior JC Stevenson who fueled the Huskers' charge to the top of the team leaderboard at the end of regulation on Tuesday afternoon. The Grand Island native fired a final-round 73 to vault into a tie for 14th at 234. Stevenson was joined by another hard-charging Husker, Kansas City, Mo., native Mary Kate Bird, who sizzled for a one-under-par 35 over the final nine holes to close the day at 77 to match Stevenson in a tie for 14th.
"JC really played solid golf from start-to-finish today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She really put us in a position to battle for the team title, along with Mary Kate Bird who finished really strong."
Unfortunately for the Huskers, Oral Roberts was able to escape with the team title after the second playoff hole, as Nebraska was plagued by poor putting again down the stretch.
"I'm glad we were in a playoff because it is a great experience for our young team," Krapfl said. "It's just too bad though that we were in a position to be in a playoff because we just missed a ton of putts again today. The course played tough and the greens are big, but we can definitely play better and that is encouraging at this point in the season."
Oral Roberts won the team title with rounds of 307, 308 and 311 to finish at 926 on the par-72, 6,242-yard layout at Alvamar. Nebraska matched the Golden Eagles with rounds of 307, 312 and 307. Illinois State finished four shots off the pace at 930, while South Florida claimed fourth at 931.
The hosts from the University of Kansas settled for fifth. The Jayhawks were led by individual champion Emily Powers, who carded a final-round 71 on Tuesday for the only round played below par for the entire tournament. Powers finished at 223, two shots ahead of teammate Jennifer Clark (225), who was playing as an unattached individual.
Oral Roberts' Eve Santillan took third at 226, while NU's White tied South Florida's Gennifer Mendez in fourth at 229.
Nebraska will return to the course for competition when the Huskers travel to the McHaney/Morehead Invitational in Lubbock, Texas, Oct. 6-7.
Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
Lawrence, Kan.
Final Team Results
Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 22-23, 2008
Alvamar Golf Course
Par 72, 6,242 Yards
T1. Oral Roberts - 307-308-311-926 (won title on 2nd playoff hole)
T1. Nebraska - 307-312-307-926
3. Illinois State - 302-315-313-930
4. South Florida - 318-310-303-931
5. Kansas - 318-308--308-934
6. Oklahoma City U. - 317-315-311-943
T7. Kansas State - 318-321-316-955
T7. Coastal Carolina - 324-324-307-955
9. Nebraska (B) - 326-312-330-968
10. Wichita State - 318-323--328-969
T11. North Texas - 322-327-323-972
T11. UMKC - 318-327-327-972
13. Creighton - 328-331-323-982
14. Northern Iowa - 325-330-330-985
15. Redlands CC - 333-336-318-987
16. Kennesaw State - 328-333-333-994
Individual Leaderboard
1. Emily Powers, Kansas - 77-75-71-223
2. Jennifer Clark, Kansas - 74-75-76-225
3. Eve Santillan, Oral Roberts - 77-73-76-226
T4. Kate White, Nebraska - 73-78-78-229
T4. Gennifer Mendez, South Florida - 78-78-73-229
6. Christy Carter, Oral Roberts - 76-78-76-230
T7. Natalie Gleadall, Nebraska - 75-78-79-232
T7. Ashley Sholer, OKC University - 77-80-75-232
T7. Krista Hrdlicka, Wichita State - 75-78-79-232
T7. Ana Joaquina Lopez, South Florida - 78-75-79-232
T7. Stacey Miller, Illinois State - 75-80-77-232
T7. Amber Mensley, Oral Roberts - 76-79-77-232
Nebraska Individuals
T4. Kate White - 73-78-78-223
T7. Natalie Gleadall - 75-78-79-232
T14. Mary Kate Bird - 80-77-77-234
T14. JC Stevenson - 82-79-73-234
T28. Rachel Hanigan (B) - 81-80-77-238
T35. Carolyn Schorgl (B) - 81-76-83-240
T47. Megan Place (B) - 83-77-85-245
T47. Maddie Sheils (B) - 81-79-85-245
T67. Charlotte Wendner - 79-83-87-249
88. Kayla Knopik (B) - 87-89-88-264