Kiawah Island, S.C. - Mary Kate Bird closed the final round with a four-over-par 76 to finish at 222 in a tie for eighth place in a 215-player field at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on Tuesday. Bird finished four strokes behind tournament co-champions Nicole Forshner (Central Arkansas) and Sinead O'Sullivan (East Tennessee State), while helping the Husker women's golf team to a 17th-place finish in the 43-team field.
The Huskers closed the tournament with their best round (305) to end the 54-hole event at 928. In the largest field in collegiate golf this season, Nebraska finished just four strokes out of the top 10 in the final team standings.
Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., produced the fourth top-15 finish of her career and third during the 2008-09 season with her strong performance in South Carolina.
"Mary Kate had a fantastic tournament and I'm really proud of her for playing three really solid rounds of golf," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "As a team, we played a little bit better today and that was encouraging. It was good to see Natalie (Gleadall) come back and play a really strong round and Charlotte (Wendner) and JC (Stevenson) also played well today, so I think overall we're headed in the right direction."
True freshman Natalie Gleadall notched Nebraska's top round of the day with a three-over-par 75, while junior Charlotte Wendner added a 76 to help the Huskers. Junior JC Stevenson added a 78, as all three of those golfers produced their top rounds of the tournament. Wendner finished in a tie for 81st (237), while Stevenson managed a tie for 87th (238). Gleadall closed in a tie for 103rd (240). Sophomore Rachel Hanigan rounded out NU's scoring with an 86 on Tuesday to finish with a three-round total of 248 in a tie for 148th.
Miami and Central Arkansas tied for the team title at 904. Central Arkansas fired the best round of the tournament with a 294 on Tuesday to make up five strokes on the Hurricanes, who remained in first all three days of the tournament. Miami closed the tournament with its best round of the three-day event with a 299.
East Tennessee State slipped to third at 908 with a 302 on Tuesday, while Florida and Mississippi rounded out the top five in the team standings.
Forshner and O'Sullivan shared the individual title by firing matching final rounds of one-under-par 71 on Tuesday to finish at 218. Mississippi's Sara Grantham added a two-under-par 70 to match College of Charleston's Steffi Kirchmayer and Florida's Jessica Yadloczky in a tie for third at 220.
The Huskers return to action Monday, March 9, when they compete at the three-day UNLV Spring Invitational in Boulder City, Nev.
Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Oak Point Golf Club (Oak Point/Cougar Point)
Feb. 22-24
Team Standings (Final Standings)
T1. Miami - 300-305-299-904
T1. Central Arkansas - 310-300-294-904
3. East Tennessee State - 300-306-302-908
4. Florida - 309-303-300-912
5. Mississippi - 305-306-302-913
6. College of Charleston - 307-310-298-915
T7. Kentucky - 312-302-303-917
T7. Oregon - 310-311-296-917
9. Central Florida - 306-307-305-918
T10. South Florida - 314 -304-306-924
T10. Oregon State - 319-309-296-924
T12. Western Carolina - 306-311-308-925
T12. Augusta State - 315-307-303-925
T14. Illinois State - 320-305-301-926
T14. Oral Roberts - 303-318-305-926
16. Toledo - 319-300-308-927
17. Nebraska - 309-314-305-928
18. William & Mary - 318-310-301-929
19. Middle Tennessee State - 311-312-308-931
20. Elon - 328-302-307-937
21. UNC Wilmington - 311-317-313-941
T22. Mississippi State - 311-319-316-946
T22. Texas State - 320-313-313-946
24. SMU - 333-309-309-951
25. Longwood - 316-324-317-957
26. Jacksonville State - 314-318-327-959
T27. Winthrop - 329-309-325-963
T27. Charleston Southern - 322-317-324-963
29. Richmond - 330-310-328-968
T30. Maryland - 313-339-320-972
T30. Cincinnati - 334-319-319-972
T30. Kennesaw State - 331-318-323-972
33. Ball State - 326-321-328-975
34. Missouri State - 334-318-326-978
T35. South Carolina Upstate - 334-325-322-981
T35. Wofford - 347-314-320-981
37. Old Dominion - 328-336-325-989
38. Southern Illinois - 341-326-323-990
39. Bucknell - 325-332-336-993
40. Bradley - 344-319-331-994
41. Mercer - 350-330-316-996
42. Marshall - 339-338-330-1,007
43. The Citadel - 352-354-337-1,043
Individual Leaderboard (Final Standings)
T1. Nicole Forshner (Central Arkansas) - 74-73-71-218
T1. Sinead O'Sullivan (East Tennessee State) - 74-73-71-218
T3. Sara Grantham (Mississippi) - 74-76-70-220
T3. Steffi Kirchmayr (College of Charleston) - 73-76-71-220
T3. Jessica Yadloczky (Florida) - 73-73-74-220
T6. Stephanie Connelly (Central Florida) - 70-77-74-221
T6. Christina Hirano (Miami) - 75-74-72-221
T8. Mary Kate Bird (Nebraska) - 72-74-76-222
T8. Elisa Aoki (Central Florida) - 73-73-76-222
T8. Emilie Geury (Augusta State) - 75-72-75-222
Nebraska Individuals
T8. Mary Kate Bird - 72-74-76-222
T81. Charlotte Wendner - 81-80-76-237
T87. JC Stevenson - 80-80-78-238
T103. Natalie Gleadall - 85-80-75-240
T148. Rachel Hanigan - 76-86-86-248