Wisconsin women's golf wrapped up its fall season on Tuesday by finishing in an eighth place tie at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C.
As a team, the Badgers shot a 320 in the first round but improved in each of the next two rounds by posting a 308 and a 307, respectively. Wisconsin's total score added up to 71-over par.
We wish we could have gotten off to a better start in the first round,"" head coach Todd Oehrlein said. ""But we bounced back and played solidly.""
Wisconsin senior Kate Elliott shot a team high 10-over par (226) over three rounds, and finished ninth overall in the 109 player tournament. Next for the Badgers were junior Natasha Lopez and freshman Carly Werwie, who each shot a 20-over par (236), good for 38th place.
Two other Badgers competed in the event, sophomore Kelsey Verbeten and junior Jeana Dahl. Verbeten finished just one stroke behind Lopez and Werwie at 21-over par (237) but finished in a tie for 46th. Dahl shot a 28-over par (244), and finished in a tie for 56th overall.
East Carolina won the tournament by a narrow margin over runner-up Nebraska. East Carolina finished at 42-over par, and Nebraska was close behind at 45-over. Kansas state placed in a distant third, shooting a 61-over par.
Individually, the tournament was won by J.C. Stevenson of Nebraska. By shooting a 216 (even), Stevenson was the only competitor not to let her score climb above par. Michelle Regan of Kansas State finished in a close second at one-over par (217), and Amber Littman of East Carolina rounded out the top three with a score of four-over (220).
The event was the final one of the fall season, and the last competition Wisconsin will participate in for nearly four months.
""It was a good fall,"" Oehrlein said. ""We feel we can still play better, but we had a number of great tournaments and great individual finishes.""
Because of the extended break between tournaments, Wisconsin will have plenty of time to work on improving.
""We just have to improve on scoring better [on shots] 75 yards and in,"" Oehrlein said. ""We give ourselves a lot of opportunities; we just have to capitalize.""
The team will take some time to focus on individual workouts and strength training before rejoining after Christmas break. Wisconsin will then have three weeks to prepare for their upcoming event in late February, which is the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in the Caribbean.
