Huskers in Hunt at Westbrook

Vanessa Bouvet fired an opening-round 68 (-4) to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to a tie for second after the first 36 holes at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., on Sunday.

Bouvet, a senior from France by way of Brunei, added an even-par second round to head into Monday’s final round at Westbrook Village Golf Club in a tie for fourth at 140 (-4). She sits two strokes back of tournament co-leaders Kendall Todd from UNLV (67-70-137) and Julia Lopez Ramirez from Mississippi State (69-68-137). 

Bouvet wasn’t the only Husker playing outstanding golf on Sunday. Senior Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) put together a two-under-par 70 on the 6,230-yard Vistas Course. Whittaker added an even-par 72 in the second round to close the day at 142 (-2) in a tie for 11th.  

With Bouvet and Whittaker leading the way, Nebraska heads to the final round in a tie for second with UNLV at 569 (-7), just two shots back of the team leaders from Mississippi State at 567 (-9) in the loaded 14-team field.

“It was a solid all-around team effort today,” Nebraska Head Coach Lisa Johnson said. “Vanessa made some great putts and managed the course well. Miska (Vavrova) came through clutch with an impressive bounce-back round. We have been in this situation many times this year, and we’re excited to get after it tomorrow. We will stick to our course management plan and focus on hitting greens.”

Nebraska’s opening-round 283 included an even-par 72 from freshman Miu Takahashi (Japan), while senior Kirsten Baete (Beatrice, Neb.) added a 73 (+1) in the Huskers’ count-four team score.  The Big Red added a 286 in the second round, including a 69 (-3) from Michaela Vavrova (Slovakia) and a 73 from Takahashi to go along with even-par rounds from Bouvet and Whittaker.

Takahashi and Vavrova ended the first 36 holes in a tie for 28th at 145 (+1), while Baete sits in a tie for 38th at 147 (+3) after carding a 74 (+2) in the second round.

Final-round play at the Westbrook Spring Invitational begins with a shotgun start on Monday at 9:30 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available from GolfStat.com.

Westbrook Spring Invitational

Feb. 27-28, 2022

Westbrook Village Golf Club (Peoria, Ariz.)

Vistas Course (Par 72, 6,230 Yards)

Team Results (Two Rounds)

1. Mississippi State  – 285-282-567 (-9)

T2. UNLV – 281-288-569 (-7)

T2. Nebraska – 283-286-569 (-7)

4. Washington State – 288-287-575 (-1)

5. Minnesota – 293-283-576 (E)

6. Kansas – 295-283-578 (+2)

7. Oklahoma – 287-292-579 (+3)

T8. College of Charleston – 291-289-580 (+4)

T8. Wisconsin – 293-287-580 (+4)

10. Notre Dame – 295-286-581 (+5)

T11. Denver – 291-292-583 (+7)

T11. Ohio State – 293-290-583 (+7)

13. Kansas State – 292-295-587 (+11)

14. Iowa – 297-303-600 (+24)

Individual Leaderboard (Two Rounds)

T1. Kendall Todd, UNLV – 67-70-137 (-7)

T1. Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State – 69-68-137 (-7)

3. Libby Winans, Oklahoma – 69-69-138 (-6)

T4. Vanessa Bouvet, Nebraska – 68-72-140 (-4)

T4. Chloe Schiavone, Notre Dame – 70-70-140 (-4)

T4. Viktoria Hund, College of Charleston – 71-69-140 (-4)

T7. Jinyu Wu, Washington State – 70-71-141 (-3)

T7. Lauren Heinlein, Kansas – 74-67-141 (-3)

T7. Mackenzie Hahn, Wisconsin – 73-68-141 (-3)

T7. Chloe Chan, Wisconsin – 72-69-141 (-3)

Nebraska Individuals

T4. Vanessa Bouvet – 68-72-140 (-4)

T11. Megan Whittaker – 70-72-142 (-2)

T28. Miu Takahashi – 72-73-145 (+1)

T28. Michaela Vavrova – 76-69-145 (+1)

T38. Kirsten Baete – 73-74-147 (+3)