Wolcott, Colo. - Katelyn Wright and Cassie Deeg tied for 20th in a talented 18-team field to lead the Nebraska women's golf team at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Red Sky Golf Club on Wednesday.
Wright and Deeg each produced 54-hole totals of 222 to lead Nebraska to a 15th-place team finish at 924.
Wright produced her third consecutive solid round with a three-over-par 75 on the 6,236-yard, par-72 layout of the Fazio Course at Red Sky. Her three-round total was nine strokes better than the season-opening 231 she produced to tie for 11th at Nebraska's Chip-N Club Invitational two weeks ago. Wright has posted six consecutive rounds better than 80 to open the season, including five rounds of 76 or better.
The junior from Incline Village, Nev., has been striving for consistency in her game and showed it in all three rounds against a loaded 18-team tournament field that included nine ranked teams. In shooting her 75 Wednesday, Wright produced 12 consecutive pars. For the tournament, she did not settle for a double-bogey, while managing five birdies, 38 pars and 11 bogeys over 54 holes.
Deeg, a true freshman from Hugo, Minn., added a solid final round with a 77. Deeg's 222 eclipsed her total at NU's season-opening Chip-N Club Invite, Sept. 10-11 at the Country Club of Lincoln by 21 strokes. Her three-round total of 222 included a career-best 69 in Monday's first round.
Lincoln native Jackie O'Doherty carded her second straight solid round for the Huskers with a 79 Wednesday. The redshirt freshman out of Lincoln East High School finished in 87th with a 252, but produced rounds of 78 and 79 on the final two days of the tournament.
Fellow redshirt freshman Morgan Smejkal from Columbus, Neb., posted NU's fourth-best score of the round with an 83 to finish with a 54-hole total of 256.
Junior Steffi Neisen rounded out the Husker contingent with an 86 to tie for 74th at 242.
Pepperdine won the team title with a three-round score of 860 that included a final-round 285. UC Davis took runner-up honors with an 865 after firing an even-par 288 in the third round. Oklahoma finished third at 881.
UC Davis' Demi Runas earned medalist honors with a seven-under-par 209 over 54 holes. Runas closed the tournament with a one-under 71 on Wednesday after producing rounds of 71 and 67 through the first 36 holes.
Pepperdine's Grace Na and Texas-San Antonio's Fabiola Arriaga tied for second at 212.
Nebraska returns to action in two weeks at the Price's "Give Em Five" New Mexico State Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M., Oct. 8-10.
Golfweek Conference Challenge
Red Sky Golf Club (Wolcott, Colo.)
Par 72, 6,236 Yards
Sept. 24-26, 2012
Final Team Results
1. #26 Pepperdine - 286-289-285-860
2. #31 UC Davis - 292-285-288-865
3. #25 Oklahoma - 286-300-295-881
4. Campbell - 298-303-293-894
5. #44 Denver - 305-297-293-895
6. #38 Mississippi - 300-296-303-899
7. UTSA - 307-296-301-904
8. East Tennessee State - 298-306-302-906
9. #1 UCLA - 310-294-310-914
10. #29 Florida State - 304-311-300-915
T11. #48 San Diego State - 302-305-311-918
T11. South Florida - 305-307-306-918
13. Georgia State - 310-314-295-919
14. San Jose State - 303-314-305-922
15. Nebraska - 303-307-314-924
16. #37 Tulsa - 311-307-309-927
17. Furman - 305-307-317-929
18. Missouri State - 318-315-313-946
# - Golfweek preseason rankings
Final Individual Results
1. Demi Runas, UC Davis - 71-67-71-209
T2. Fabiola Arriaga, UTSA - 75-68-69-212
T2. Grace Na, Pepperdine - 69-70-73-212
4. Alina Ching, Pepperdine - 71-72-70-213
T5. Somin Lee, Pepperdine - 71-75-69-215
T5. Chirapat Jao-Javanil, Oklahoma - 68-75-72-215
T7. Emily Collins, Oklahoma - 70-74-72-216
T7. Amy Simanton, UC Davis - 73-74-69-216
T9. Andrea Wong, UC Davis - 75-71-71-217
T9. Anne-Catherine Tangu, Oklahoma - 69-73-75-217
Nebraska Individuals
T20. Katelyn Wright - 71-76-75-222
T20. Cassie Deeg - 69-76-77-222
T74. Steffi Neisen - 79-77-86-242
87. Jackie O'Doherty - 95-78-79-252
89. Morgan Smejkal - 84-89-83-256