French Lick, Ind. - A pair of true freshmen posted Nebraska's top scores on the final day of the Big Ten Women's Golf Championship at the French Lick Resort on Sunday.
Cassie Deeg, a true freshman from Hugo, Minn., fired Nebraska's best round of the tournament with a one-over-par 73 to produce the Huskers' top finish. Deeg tied for 32nd in the 72-player field, closing with a 54-hole score of 232 (79-80-73).
Fellow true freshman Hannah Luebke from Stuttgart, Germany, added a career-best 75 in the final round to close at 234 (81-78-75) in a tie for 38th. The 234 marked the best tournament score of Luebke's young Husker career.
With NU's true freshmen leading the way, the Huskers climbed one spot to finish 11th in the 12-team tournament field with a three-round total of 935. Nebraska's final-round 301 was its best round of the tournament and allowed the Huskers to finish 11 strokes ahead of 12th-place Illinois (946).
Redshirt freshman Cassidy Stelzmiller (Placerville, Calif.) contributed NU's third-best round of the day with a 76 to finish with a three-round total of 239 (83-80-76) in a tie for 50th. Junior Steffi Neisen (New Prague, Minn.) completed the Huskers' team round with a 77 in the six-count-four scoring format. Neisen finished in a tie for 41st individually at 236 (81-78-77).
Redshirt freshman Jackie O'Doherty (Lincoln, Neb.) managed an 81 to finish her 54 holes at 240 (80-79-81) in a tie for 53rd. Junior Katelyn Wright (Incline Village, Nev.) settled for a 58th-place finish at 242 (82-78-82).
Purdue and Northwestern shared the Big Ten Tournament title. The Boilermakers closed the tournament with a final-round 297 to erase Northwestern's five-shot lead heading into the third round. The Wildcats managed a 302 on Sunday to match Purdue at 884.
Michigan State, the 2012 Big Ten champion, fired the best round of the tournament on Sunday with a 289 to finish just five shots behind the leaders at 889. Penn State finished fourth at 900, while Indiana rounded out the top five at 916.
Purdue's Paula Reto claimed medalist honors with a three-round total of 212 (71-71-70) on the par-72, 6,099-yard layout of the Donald Ross Course. Michigan State's Caroline Powers finished a distant second at 219 (75-73-71). Her teammate, Christine Meier tied Penn State's Katlyn Elliott for third at 220, while a third Spartan, Allyssa Ferrell, finished fifth at 221.
Northwestern's Kaitlin Park round out the six golfers on the Big Ten All-Championship Team by finishing sixth at 222.
Nebraska's 2012-13 season comes to a close, but the Huskers are expected to return their entire roster for the 2013-14 campaign.
2013 Big Ten Championship
April 25-27, 2013
French Lick Resort (French Lick, Ind.)
Ross Course (Par 72, 6,099 Yards)
Final Team Standings
T1. Northwestern - 287-295-302-884
T1. Purdue - 293-294-297-884
3. Michigan State - 303-297-289-889
4. Penn State - 296-305-299-900
5. Indiana - 310-303-303-916
6. Wisconsin - 305-311-301-917
7. Ohio State - 301-307-310-918
8. Minnesota - 312-305-304-921
9. Iowa - 313-306-305-924
10. Michigan - 306-316-310-932
11. Nebraska - 321-313-301-935
12. Illinois - 311-318-317-946
Final Individual Standings
1. Paula Reto, Purdue - 71-71-70-212
2. Caroline Powers, Michigan State - 75-73-71-219
T3. Katlyn Elliott, Penn State - 72-75-73-220
T3. Christine Meier, Michigan State - 75-72-73-220
5. Allyssa Ferrell, Michigan State - 74-75-72-221
6. Kaitlin Park, Northwestern - 71-72-79-222
T7. Devon Brown, Northwestern - 74-74-75-223
T7. Kishi Sinha, Purdue - 73-73-77-223
T9. Aurora Kan, Purdue - 74-76-74-224
T9. Carmen Laguna, Minnesota - 76-76-72-224
T9. Elizabeth Szokol, Northwestern - 74-75-75-224
Nebraska Golfers
T32. Cassie Deeg - 79-80-73-232
T38. Hannah Luebke - 81-78-75-234
T41. Steffi Neisen - 81-78-77-236
T50. Cassidy Stelzmiller - 83-80-76-239
T53. Jackie O'Doherty - 80-79-81-240
58. Katelyn Wright - 82-78-82-242