Baete, Huskers Lead in Bahamas

Kirsten Baete continued to play outstanding golf to expand her individual lead and power the Nebraska women’s golf team to the top of the standings after two rounds at the White Sands Intercollegiate at Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Saturday.

Baete, a senior from Beatrice, Neb., scorched the 6,415-yard layout at the Ocean Club Golf Course for a 67 (-5) for the second straight day to head into Sunday’s final round at 134 (-10).

“It was another stellar performance today from KB,” Nebraska Head Coach Lisa Johnson said. “She stayed patient early despite missing some early birdie opportunities. She was especially excited to post a bogey-free round.”

Baete owns a six-stroke lead over Campbell’s Anna Nordfors, who shot an even-par 72 Saturday to close the first 36 holes at 140 (-4).

Nordfors’ Camel teammate Emily Hawkins sits alone in third at 142 (-2), while four golfers including Husker Michaela Vavrova are tied for fourth at 143 (-1) through two rounds. Vavrova, a sophomore from Bojnice, Slovakia, put together the best round of her collegiate career with a 69 (-3) on Saturday, after opening the tournament Friday with a 74.

Vanessa Bouvet (France/Brunei) also produced a terrific round for the Big Red, bouncing back from an opening-round 76 to shoot 70 (-2) on Saturday. Bouvet stormed 18 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 11th with fellow Husker Megan Whittaker at 146 (+2). Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) put up a 74 (+2) in the second round after opening the tournament with an even-par 72 Friday.

“It’s always a great day when we have three players in red numbers,” Johnson said. “Solid play from Miska and Vanessa, as though they were both looking to breakthrough today.”

 

Those four Huskers completed Nebraska’s team total in the five-count-four scoring format with a season-best 280 (-8) to storm to the top of the standings. The Big Red’s second round was 13 strokes better than both Campbell and Miami, which closed the day at 293 (+5). The Huskers pushed ahead of Campbell, which held a narrow one-stroke edge over Nebraska, after the Camels produced an opening-round 284 (-4).

Nebraska heads to Sunday’s final round with a two-round total of 565 (-11), 12 shots ahead of Campbell (577). Mercer and the hosts from Miami are tied for third at 587 – 22 strokes behind the Big Red. All four of those schools competed in NCAA Regionals in 2021.

“The team set a goal to improve on yesterday and we went out and went after it,” Johnson said. “Wind wasn’t as much of a factor today so the course setup provided plenty of opportunities to attack the flags. We look forward to firing some red numbers again tomorrow.”

While Baete (1st), Vavrova (T4th), Bouvet (T11th) and Whittaker (T11th) are all hunting for top-10 finishes in the 43-player field in the Bahamas, freshman Miu Takahashi (Japan) and sophomore Lindsey Thiele are hot on their heels in a tie for 18th (148). Takahashi is competing in the Husker top five, while Thiele is playing as an individual outside the lineup.

Redshirt freshman Andrea Velez (Colombia) is also in position for a top-25 individual, sitting in a tie for 24th (151). Nicole Hansen (35th, 158) and Lena Hassert (42nd, 171) round out the Nebraska contingent in the Bahamas.

The White Sands Intercollegiate comes to a close with Sunday’s final round beginning with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available from GolfStat.com.

White Sands Intercollegiate

Oct. 22-24, 2021

Paradise Islands, Bahamas (Ocean Club GC)

Par 72, 6,415 Yards

Team Standings (Two Rounds)

1. Nebraska – 285-280-565 (-11)

2. Campbell – 284-293-577 (+1)

T3. Mercer – 293-294-587 (+11)

T3. Miami – 294-293-587 (+11)

5. Florida International – 308-299-607 (+31)

6. Northern Illinois – 304-306-610 (+34)

7. Iowa – 308-304-612 (+36)

Individual Leaderboard (Two Rounds)

1. Kirsten Baete, Nebraska – 67-67-134 (-10)

2. Anna Nordfors, Campbell – 68-72-140 (-4)

3. Emily Hawkins, Campbell – 70-72-142 (-2)

T4. Michaela Vavrova, Nebraska – 74-69-143 (-1)

T4. Carol Pyon, Mercer – 72-71-143 (-1)

T4. Jasmine Ly, Northern Illinois – 73-70-143 (-1)

T4. Mikayla Dubnik*, Mercer – 70-73-143 (-1)

8. Anna Backman, Miami – 71-73-144 (E)

T9. Franziska Sliper*, Miami – 71-74-145 (+1)

T9. Klara Wildhaber, Iowa – 74-71-145 (+1)

T11. Vanessa Bouvet, Nebraska – 76-70-146 (+2)

T11. Megan Whittaker, Nebraska – 72-74-146 (+2)

T11. Three others

Nebraska Individuals

1. Kirsten Baete – 67-67-134 (-10)

T4. Michaela Vavrova – 74-69-143 (-1)

T11. Vanessa Bouvet – 76-70-146 (+2)

T11. Megan Whittaker – 72-74-146 (+2)

T18. Miu Takahashi – 72-76-148 (+4)

T18. Lindsey Thiele* – 74-74-148 (+4)

T24. Andrea Velez* – 74-77-151 (+7)

35. Nicole Hansen* – 83-75-158 (+14)

42. Lena Hassert* – 83-88-171 (+27)