Lubbock, Texas - Kate White posted her second straight top-five finish by shooting a final-round 74 to help the Nebraska women's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the McHaney/Morehead Invitational at The Rawls Course on Tuesday.
White, a junior from Waukegan, Ill., notched her third consecutive top-10 individual finish to open the season by closing the 54-hole tournament at 226. White's one-over-par 74 on Tuesday followed on the heels of an even-par 73 in Monday's second round.
White was joined in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard by fellow Husker JC Stevenson. The junior from Grand Island, Neb., closed the 13-team tournament in a tie for seventh place at 227 with a final-round 77.
Rachel Hanigan (233, tied for 18th), Natalie Gleadall (238, tied for 32nd) and Mary Kate Bird (238, tied for 32nd) all added top-35 finishes for the Huskers by producing solid final rounds of 78 on the 6,525-yard, par-73 layout at The Rawls Course.
The consistent scoring by the Huskers allowed them to close the tournament at 922 after a final-round 307. Arkansas-Little Rock stormed to the team title by firing a tournament-best 297 on Tuesday to overtake both Baylor and the hosts from Texas Tech. Baylor entered the final round with a three-shot lead on Texas Tech and a four-stroke lead over UALR, but led by individual medalist Sara Wickstrom (73-68-71-212), UALR rolled to a five-stroke victory at 908.
Baylor finished second at 913 after managing a 306 over the final 18 holes, while Texas Tech and Colorado tied for third at 920, just two shots ahead of the fifth-place Huskers.
"We played OK and we did a lot of good things, but we just didn't have our A game today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "I am pleased with the progress we showed in our short game throughout the tournament, and I think we have made a lot of progress in that area which is really encouraging. I also thought that we fought and we battled hard from start to finish, even though we didn't play our best golf."
Nebraska will continue its 2008 fall campaign when the Huskers travel to the Lady Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C., Oct. 19-21.
Jeannine McHaney/Audrey Morehead Invitational
(Oct. 6-7)
The Rawls Course
Par 73, 6,525 Yards
Lubbock, Texas
Final Team Standings
1. Arkansas-Little Rock - 303-308-297-908
2. Baylor - 302-305-306-913
T3. Texas Tech - 303-307-310-920
T3. Colorado - 313-301-306-920
5. Nebraska - 312-303-307-922
6. Missouri - 315-310-303-928
7. Kansas - 313-316-314-943
8. Middle Tennessee State - 317-308-320-945
9. Redlands CC - 322-310-326-958
10. North Texas - 315-326-318-959
11. Kansas State - 337-312-314-963
12. Texas-San Antonio - 325-313-328-966
13. Sam Houston State - 334-315-319-968
Final Individual Leaderboard
1. Sara Wickstrom, UALR - 73-68-71-212
2. Hannah Burke, Baylor - 73-74-73-220
3. Lene Hafsten-Morch, Baylor - 73-73-75-221
4. Mallory Fraiche, UALR - 73-75-75-225
T5. Kate White, Nebraska - 80-72-74-226
T5. Ulrika van Niekirk, Texas Tech - 75-74-77-226
T7. JC Stevenson, Nebraska - 73-77-77-227
T7. Emily Powers, Kansas - 74-79-74-227
T7. Alex Gibson, Texas Tech - 75-77-75-227
10. Emily Talley, Colorado - 80-73-76-229
Husker Golfers
T5. Kate White, Nebraska - 80-72-74-226
T7. JC Stevenson, Nebraska - 73-77-77-227
T18. Rachel Hanigan - 78-77-78-233
T32. Mary Kate Bird - 81-79-78-238
T32. Natalie Gleadall - 83-77-78-238
*66. Megan Place - 84-85-82-251
*playing as an individual