May 23, 2003
Complete Results
Note: Texas A&M's Nicole Melton and Kansas State's Christine Boucher, their teams' lone qualifiers, tied for 50th and 64th overall, respecitively.
Texas Women's Golf Finishes Third in the 2003 NCAA Championship
UT's Janice Olivencia tied for sixth in the individual standings to lead the Longhorns with a 12-over par effort.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- For the fourth year in a row, the Texas women's golf team turned in a top three finish in the NCAA Championship. Texas came in third with a eight-over par 296 in the final round on Friday at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (par 72, 6225 yards). Texas was tied for 10th after the first two rounds, but a strong third round paired with consistent golf on the last day of play helped push Texas into the top three. The Longhorns finished 16 strokes behind champion, No. 3 Southern California, and just missed out on a second place finish, trailing No. 4 Pepperdine by one shot. Texas finished in a second place tie in 2002, and was third in 2001 and 2000.
Junior Janice Olivencia (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) finished the day one-over par and in a tie for sixth place in the individual competition after a bogey on No. 5 kept her from making par on every hole in Friday's competition. Olivencia was UT's top finisher for the third consecutive year, with a 10th place finish in 2002 as a sophomore and a 18th place finish in 2001 as a freshman. She ended the tournament 12-over par (80-77-70-73=300, +12). Olivencia was three strokes off the 297's put up by Mikaela Parmild of Southern California and Andrea Vander Lende of Florida, who tied for first after four rounds of golf, with Parmild winning in a playoff hole on No. 1.
"My putter was good today," Olivencia said. "It was tough to make birdies out there. I was consistent except for one bad hole. I am satisfied with my finish and with the team's finish, even though we could have done better."
Bogeys on No. 3 and No. 17 along with birdies on No. 8 and No. 11 put sophomore Perry Swenson (Charlotte, N.C./St. Stephens) at even-par in the fourth round and pushed her into a tie for 36th place in the individual standings. Swenson ended the tournament at 18-over par (83-76-75-72=306, +18). As a freshman in 2002, Swenson finished in a tie for 83rd place at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Jessica Reese (Santa Rosa, Calif./Montgomery) ended her career as a Longhorn with a solid final round, shooting three-over par on Friday to finish the tournament 18-over par and tied for 36th place (78-77-76-75=306, +18). Reese started the day off with a birdie on No.1 to go along with a birdie on No. 10. Bogeys on No. 4 and No. 11 and a triple-bogey on No. 8 put Reese at three-over par. Reese competed in two other NCAA Championships in her time at Texas with her best finish coming as a freshman in 2000, where tied for 29th, making her one of 11 freshmen to finish in the top 30. As a sophomore in 2001, Reese finished tied for 30th place.
"Playing golf at Texas was a great experience," said Reese. "I'm not upset which is sort of surprising. I had one really bad hole today, but otherwise I had a solid round."
Following up a terrific third round where she was one-over par, sophomore Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif./Lodi) turned in a steady four-over par 76, putting her at 21-over for the tournament and giving her a 50th place tie (80-80-73-76=309, +21). Ferrero had an up-and-down round on Friday, firing birdies on No. 2, and No. 7 to go along with bogeys on No. 4, No. 5, No. 13 and No. 14, and a double-bogey on No. 10. As a freshman in 2002, Ferrero finished tied for 31st place in the NCAA Championship.
Freshman Devan Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico/The American School) shot a six-over par 78 to conclude her first NCAA Championship at 21-over par and tied for 50th place (80-80-73-76=309, +21). Andersen had a rough back nine, shooting double-bogeys on both the 12th and 16th holes. Her lone birdie of the day came on the par-4 14th hole.
"Today was pretty solid," Texas head coach Susan Watkins said. "We kept fighting. We knew we would need a low round to have a shot at winning it. The course is challenging and that is great for women's golf. It really separates the good golfers from the great golfers."
Cowgirl Golfers Tie For Fifth At NCAA Championships
OSU's finish equals its best outing at NCAAs since 1989.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Oklahoma State?s second-ranked Cowgirl golf team tied UCLA for fifth place at the NCAA Championships this week, equalling OSU?s best finish at an NCAA Championships since 1989.
The Cowgirls dropped two spots from third to fifth after carding a 304 team total. Southern California won the team title with a four-day score of 1197, 15 strokes better than second place Pepperdine. The Waves finished at 1212, while Texas finished third at 1213. Ohio State finished at 1214, two strokes better than the Cowgirls and Bruins who finished 19 strokes behind the national champion Women of Troy.
Individually, Cowgirl senior Linda Wessberg had another fine day, finishing with a one-over-par 73 and ending her career with a sixth-place finish at 300. Sophomore Annie Thurman struggled all day Friday and finished with an 82, falling from third to 19th place with a four-round total of 303.
Freshman Karin Sjödin ended her initial season with a one-over-par 73 and tied for 24th place with a four-day total of 304. Senior Christi Cano finished her collegiate career with a four-day total of 314, good for 73rd place. Sophomore Jenny Karr wrapped up her season with a four-round total of 324, good for 102nd place.
The 2001 Cowgirls also finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, 18 strokes behind the national champion. Wessberg?s sixth place finish was also the highest finish by a Cowgirl since 1987, when Robin Hood finished fifth.
This marks the Cowgirls? third consecutive top-15 finish at the NCAA Championships, and the 11th in school history. It is also OSU?s second top-five finish in three seasons.
Husker Golfers Take Home 22nd at NCAA Championships
West Lafayette, Ind.-- Despite firing a 314 for the second consecutive day, the Nebraska women's golf team finished in 22nd place at the 2003 NCAA Championships at the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. The Huskers finished the four-day event with a team score of 1,281.
USC won the team championship (1,197) followed by Pepperdine (1,212) and Texas (1,213). NU finished 24 strokes behind 21st place Tulsa and seven strokes ahead of 23rd place Washington State.
Despite finishing 22nd, NU head coach Robin Krapfl wasn't disappointed with her team's finish.
"I think they really overachieved this spring," Krapfl said. "They definitely earned the right to be here at the Championships."
Individually, senior Sarah Sasse was NU's top finisher, as she finished her Husker career in a tie for 40th place (307) after carding a six-over par 78 during the final round. Sasse finished just three strokes out of the top 25.
"Sarah had high expectations and goals coming in," Krapfl said. "I think she just put too much pressure on herself instead of relaxing and just playing."
Sophomore Stephanie Ruiz jumped 12 spots on the leader board on Friday. She entered the day tied for 100th overall and jumped to 88th after firing a five-over par 77 (324) during the final round, equaling her best round of the tournament. Ruiz also carded a 77 on Thursday.
"She eliminated some big numbers, started swinging well and made five birdies today," Krapfl said.
Sophomore Merynn Ito fired a 78, her best round of the Championships, to finish with a 329, while junior Stephanie Schaefer carded an 81 over the final 18 holes to finish with a 324. Beth Anne Cherry rounded out the scoring for the Huskers, as the sophomore from Lincoln Southeast carded a 91 over the final 18 (362).
USC's Mikaela Parmlid won the individual title in a one-hole playoff over Florida's Andrea Vander Lende, while Arizona's Erica Blasberg took home third.
NU will lose just one letter winner in Sasse off this NCAA team, making Krapfl excited about next season.
"We got some great experience in this tournament," Krapfl said. "The girls learned how close they are to playing at a national level. We have some good freshmen coming in and we have some redshirts who can really blossom."
The 2003 Championships marked only the second time in school history that the Huskers had qualified as a team. NU also went to the 2000 NCAA meet, where the Huskers finished 19th.