Haley Thiele and Vanessa Bouvet each fired 18-hole scores of three-under-par 69 to lead Nebraska to its best team round of the tournament on the final day of the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo., Wednesday
Thiele, a junior from Wahoo, Neb., produced her second-best round and second-best 54-hole tournament score since her freshman season in 2015-16 for the Huskers. Thiele's final-round 69 powered her to a three-round score of 219 to tie for 21st in the 93-player field at the Red Sky Golf Club.
Freshman Vanessa Bouvet (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei) matched Thiele's score Wednesday with a 69 of her own, vaulting 32 spots up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 40th at 227.
With Thiele and Bouvet leading the way, the Huskers closed the round with a three-under-par 285 as a team for their best round of the young season. Nebraska moved up two spots to 11th on the final team leaderboard with a three-day total of 899.
Junior Kate Smith (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) added her best round of the tournament with a one-over 73 to tie for 54th at 230, while freshman Kirsten Baete (Beatrice, Neb.) contributed a 74 to tie for 59th at 231. Sophomore Noor Ahmed (Folsom, Calif.) settled for an 80 to finish in a tie for 67th at 233, while freshman Megan Whittaker managed an 83 to tie for 85th at 243, while playing as an individual outside the Husker lineup.
UCLA ran away with the team title with a tournament-record score of 832, including a 17-under-par 271 on Wednesday. The Bruins beat second-place Pepperdine by 33 strokes (865), while Denver finished third at 873 in the 18-team field that featured teams from 18 different conferences around the country.
UCLA's Mariel Galdiano outdueled teammate Patty Tavatanakit in the final round to take medalist honors. Galdiano fired a seven-under 65 to close with a winning total of 13-under-par 203. Tavatanakit, who entered the final round tied with Galdiano, added a five-under 67 in the final round to finish at 11-under 205. Denver's Mary Weinstein took third at 206, including a tournament-best, final-round 64.
Nebraska will be back in action in Colorado at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Oct. 5-7.
Golfweek Conference Challenge
Sept. 24-26, 2018
Red Sky Golf Club (Wolcott, Colo.)
Par 72, 6,320 Yards
Final Team Results
1. UCLA - 277-284-271-832 (-32)
2. Pepperdine - 287-287-291-865 (+1)
3. Denver - 293-295-285-873 (+9)
4. Campbell - 286-293-297-876 (+12)
5. SMU - 299-297-282-878 (+14)
6. Virginia Tech - 297-309-276-882 (+18)
7. Georgia - 298-296-290-884 (+20)
8. TCU - 294-303-291-888 (+24)
9. East Tennessee State - 296-298-298-892 (+28)
10. San Diego State - 306-295-294-895 (+31)
11. Nebraska - 303-311-285-899 (+35)
12. Sacramento State - 302-302-299-903 (+39)
13. Central Arkansas - 316-309-286-911 (+47)
14. UC Riverside - 308-295-309-912 (+48)
T15. Delaware - 312-303-303-918 (+54)
T15. Troy - 304-317-297-918 (+54)
17. Southern Miss - 317-304-308-929 (+65)
18. Jacksonville - 306-317-308-931 (+67)
Final Individual Results
1. Mariel Galdiano, UCLA - 70-68-65-203 (-13)
2. Patty Tavatanakit, UCLA - 68-70-67-205 (-11)
3. Mary Weinstein, Denver - 68-74-64-206 (-10)
4. Hira Naveed, Pepperdine - 71- 70-69-210 (-6)
T5. Hee Ying Loy, East Tennessee State - 70-72-70-212 (-4)
T5. Lilia Vu, UCLA - 72-73-67-212 (-4)
T7. Brigitte Dunne, SMU - 75-72-66-213 (-3)
T7. Clare Legaspi, UCLA - 68-73-72-213 (-3)
9. Emma Svensson, Central Arkansas - 75-72-67-214 (-2)
T10. Kennedy Pedigo, SMU - 73-70-72-215 (-1)
T10. Tereza Melicka, East Tennessee State - 72-69-74-215 (-1)
Nebraska Individuals
T21. Haley Thiele - 75-75-69-219 (+3)
T40. Vanessa Bouvet - 79-79-69-227 (+11)
T54. Kate Smith - 76-81-73-230 (+14)
T59. Kirsten Baete - 75-82-72-231 (+15)
T67. Noor Ahmed - 77-76-80-233 (+17)
*T85. Megan Whittaker - 80-80-83-243 (+27)