Lincoln - Nebraska fired a final-round 290 to finish with a three-round total of 896 in third place at the Husker women's golf team's season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational on Tuesday at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course.
Cassie Deeg led the Huskers' climb up the team leaderboard on Tuesday by carding a three-under-par 69 in the final round. The junior from Hugo, Minn., matched tournament champion Rio Watanabe from Ohio State for the day's best round. Deeg's impressive round vaulted her from a tie for 15th in the individual standings to start the day, into a tie for fourth.
Teammate Jordan Chael added a final-round 74 to close her tournament as Nebraska's top finisher at 220 (71-75-74). The sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., produced a career-best third-place finish, while her 220 was also a career-best, surpassing the 224 she fired in NU's victory at last year's Chip-N Club Invite.
Chael's career performance placed her three strokes behind Ohio State's Watanabe (74-74-69-217) and two shots back of OSU's Jan Chanpalangsri (76-72-70-218).
Watanabe and Chanpalangsri fueled the Buckeyes' charge to the team title. OSU, which totaled an 879 including a tournament-best final-round 284, defeated Missouri (891) by 12 strokes. The Tigers produced a 289 on Tuesday.
Nebraska, which also received strong rounds from Morgan Smejkal (73) and Audrey Judd (74), on its way to a third-place finish, climbed past Wichita State in the final team standings. The Shockers settled for a final-round 300 to close the tournament at 900. North Dakota State rounded out the top five in the team standings at 906 with a 300 in the third round as well. The Bison entered the final round in a tie for fourth with the Huskers.
"It was encouraging. We played better golf today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "Cassie played a great round from start to finish, and Jordan was solid again today, but just missed quite a few putts for birdie that would have changed her round. Overall, it was a good learning experience for our young players, and we will work to build from here."
Smejkal's three-round score of 225 (76-76-73) was a career best, while her final-round 73 was also a collegiate best for the junior from Columbus, Neb. Smejkal finished in a tie for 13th place.
Sarah Pravecek was Nebraska's No. 4 finisher in the tournament. The sophomore from Omaha, Neb., closed with a three-round score of 232 (77-79-76) in a tie for 26th.
Judd, a freshman from Olathe, Kan., added a tie for 28th in her first collegiate tournament. She closed with a 233 (78-81-74) to round out the Husker lineup.
Junior Cassidy Stelzmiller tied for 33rd (80-79-75-234) as one of three Husker individuals playing outside the lineup in the tournament. Freshman Emily Gillman tied for 35th (78-81-76-235), while sophomore Yoorim Kang tied for 45th (81-79-78-238) in the 62-player tournament field.
Tuesday's final round was interrupted for approximately 90 minutes because of severe weather in the Lincoln area. The teams were called off the course because of lightning at approximately 11:30 a.m. Play resumed at approximately 1 p.m.
The Huskers hit the road for the first time next week when they travel to the Minnesota Invitational, Sept. 15-16.
Chip-N Club Invitational
Sept. 8-9, 2014
Wilderness Ridge Golf Course (Lincoln, Neb.)
Par 72, 6,231 Yards
Final Team Standings
1. Ohio State - 295-300-284-879 (+15)
2. Missouri - 307-295-289-891 (+27)
3. Nebraska - 301-305-290-896 (+32)
4. Wichita State - 299-301-300-900 (+36)
5. North Dakota State - 313-293-300-906 (+42)
6. Missouri State - 318-301-306-925 (+61)
7. Bellevue - 317-309-309-935 (+71)
8. South Dakota - 325-310-309-944 (+80)
9. Nebraska-Omaha - 319-320-312-951 (+87)
10. Creighton - 323-323-312-958 (+94)
Final Individual Results
1. Rio Watanabe, Ohio State - 74-74-69-217 (+1)
2. Jan Chanpalangsri, Ohio State - 76-72-70-218 (+2)
3. Jordan Chael, Nebraska - 71-75-74-220 (+4)
T4. Cassie Deeg - 77-75-69-221 (+5)
T4. Hailey Boner, North Dakota State - 76-72-73-221 (+5)
T4. Sarah Storandt, North Dakota State - 81-67-73-221 (+5)
T4. Alina Rogers, Missouri - 76-75-70-221 (+5)
T8. Jessica Porvasnik, Ohio State - 73-77-72-222 (+6)
T8. Meghan Schuetz, Wichita State - 74-76-72-222 (+6)
T10. Claudia Lim, Ohio State - 72-78-73-223 (+7)
T10. Michelle Butler, Missouri - 76-71-76-223 (+7)
T10. Samantha Stewart, Wichita State - 71-73-79-223 (+7)
Nebraska Individuals
3. Jordan Chael - 71-75-74-220 (+4)
T4. Cassie Deeg - 77-75-69-221 (+5)
T13. Morgan Smejkal - 76-76-73-225 (+9)
T26. Sarah Pravecek - 77-79-76-232 (+16)
T28. Audrey Judd - 78-81-74-233 (+17)
*T33. Cassidy Stelzmiller - 80-79-75-234 (+18)
*T35. Emily Gillman - 78-81-76-235 (+19)
*T45. Yoorim Kang - 81-79-78-238 (+22)
*played as an individual outside of Nebraska's lineup