Tucson, Ariz. - Kate Smith finished the Mountain View Invitational with a one-over-par 73 to tie for 13th individually, leading the Huskers to a 13th-place team finish on Sunday.
Smith, a sophomore from Detroit Lakes, Minn., strung together four birdies in the final round to overcome a triple-bogey on hole No. 3 to close the 54-hole event with a 221 on the par-72, 6,151-yard layout at Mountain View.
With Smith leading the way, the Huskers produced their best team score of the tournament with a 300 in the final round, but they still slipped down the leaderboard and finished at 908 in a balanced 15-team field.
Fellow sophomore Annie Sritragul (Bangkok, Thailand) closed with her best round of the tournament with a 73 of her own, while freshman Noor Ahmed (Folsom, Calif.) and senior Audrey Judd (Olathe, Kan.) each shot 77 on Sunday. Ahmed finished in a tie for 45th at 229, while Judd was just one shot back in a tie for 50th at 230. Sritragul tied for 68th at 236.
Sophomore Jessica Haraden (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) rounded out the Nebraska lineup with a final-round 78 to take 71st at 237.
Freshman Hannah Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) closed a solid tournament as an individual outside the Husker lineup by adding a 78 of her own to finish in a tie for 37th with a career-best 228.
Illinois fired a 283 in the final round to storm to the team title with a three-round score of 875, nine shots ahead of second-place San Jose State. The Illini opened the day one shot behind the Spartans, who posted a 293 team total on Sunday to finish at 884. Missouri vaulted to third place by putting together the best round of the tournament with a 282 over the final 18 holes to close at 885.
San Jose State's Abegail Arevalo captured medalist honors with a three-under-par 213 over 54 holes, including a two-under 70 on Sunday. She finished two shots in front of Illinois golfers Grace Park and Tristyn Nowlin, who both ended the tournament at 215.
Nebraska returns to action at the Big Ten Tournament at TPC River's Bend Golf Club in Maineville, Ohio, April 20-22.
Mountain View Collegiate
Tucson, Ariz.
March 23-25, 2018
Mountain View Golf Club
Par 72, 6,151 Yards
Final Team Standings
1. Illinois - 288-304-283-875
2. San Jose State - 290-301-293-884
3. Missouri - 294-309-282-885
4. Kansas - 293-296-300-889
5. Central Arkansas - 302-290-298-890
6. Colorado State - 295-312-286-893
7. Middle Tennessee - 299-301-296-896
T8. Kansas State - 298-302-298-898
T8. Wichita State - 298-294-306-898
10. New Mexico State - 300-303-301-904
T11. North Texas - 302-310-295-907
T11. Sam Houston State - 307-307-293-907
13. Nebraska - 301-307-300-908
14. Missouri State - 301-315-303-919
15. Wyoming - 309-315-304-928
Final Individual Results
1. Abegail Arevalo, San Jose State - 70-73-70-213
T2. Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois - 69-75-71-215
T2. Grace Park, Illinois - 69-76-70-215
4. Alexandra Cooper, San Jose State - 69-74-73-216
T5. *Ali Morallos, Illinois - 72-74-71-217
T5. Pun Chanachai, New Mexico State - 74-69-74-217
T5. Fernanda Lira, Central Arkansas - 74-70-73-217
T8. Connie Jaffrey, Kansas State - 71-75-72-218
T8. Cayce Hendrickson, Missouri - 72-76-70-218
T8. Laine Evans, Wichita State - 74-70-74-218
T8. Ellen Secor, Colorado State - 72-74-72-218
Nebraska Golfers
T13. Kate Smith - 72-76-73-221
T37. *Hannah Thiele - 74-76-78-228
T45. Noor Ahmed - 73-79-77-229
T50. Audrey Judd - 78-75-77-230
T68. Annie Sritragul - 86-77-73-236
71. Jessica Haraden - 78-81-78-237
*competing as an individual outside the Nebraska lineup