Huskers Take Second in Oklahoma

Husker women’s golfers Vanessa Bouvet and Megan Whittaker tied for sixth with season-best scores to lead Nebraska to a runner-up finish at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Broken Arrow, Okla., on Tuesday.

Bouvet (France/Brunei) closed with rounds of 68 and 69 on the par-72, 6,200-yard layout at the Golf Club of Oklahoma to overcome an opening-round 78. She finished with a 54-hole score of 215 to tie for the second-best tournament score of her Nebraska career.

Whittaker matched Bouvet with a 215 (-1) of her own, including a final-round 71 after opening with a 70 on Monday. The senior from Elkhorn, Neb., added a 74 in the second round to produce the best three-round total of her collegiate career, surpassing the 219 (+3) she produced on her way to an 18th-place finish at the 2021 Big Ten Championship in Maineville, Ohio.

Kirsten Baete added strong scores of her own, including a final-round 70 on Tuesday to go with early rounds of 74 and 75. The senior from Beatrice, Neb., finished at 219 (+3) to tie for 14th. Sophomore Michaela Vavrova added Nebraska’s No. 4 score in the final round with a 74 (+2) to help the Huskers produce a season-best 284 in the final round. Vavrova (Slovakia) closed with a three-round total of 233 (+18) to tie for 56th.

Nebraska’s three-round team score of 872 (+8) was also a season best and the best round by any team in the tournament. However, the Huskers came up 11 strokes short of the 861 by the team champion UNLV, which finished at (-3) for the tournament. Nebraska finished 10 shots ahead of third-place Fresno State (882), 11 strokes in front of Sam Houston State (883) and 14 shots ahead of fifth-place BYU (886).

“It was really a solid all-around team performance today,” Johnson said. “We are improving each week, and we are very excited with all the progress that we are showing. We are giving ourselves lots of birdie opportunities and converting them at higher percentages than we were earlier in the season.”

Freshman Miu Takahashi (Japan) tied for 53rd (232) in the 75-player field, one shot ahead over Vavrova.Takahashi helped the Huskers get off to a strong start with an opening-round 71 (-2), before settling for rounds of 81 and 80 to close the tournament. Sophomore Lindsey Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) finished 59th (234) while playing as an individual outside the Husker lineup. Thiele put up three solid rounds of 77, 79 and 78.

UNLV’s Sydney Bryan and Oklahoma State’s Hailey Jones shared medalist honors with three-round totals of 212 (-4). Jones was one of three Oklahoma State golfers who competed individually in the tournament field.

Nebraska closes its 2021 fall campaign at the White Sands Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Houston at The Ocean Club in Nassau, Bahamas, Oct. 22-24.

Dale McNamara Invitational

Oct. 11-12, 2021

Broken Arrow, Okla. (The Golf Club of Oklahoma)

Par 72, 6,200 Yards

Final Team Results

1. UNLV – 289-287-285=861 (-3)

2. Nebraska – 293-295-284=872 (+8)

3. Fresno State – 300-297-285=882 (+18)

4. Sam Houston State – 297-296-290=883 (+19)

5. BYU – 290-303-293=886 (+22)

6. New Mexico – 297-300-300=897 (+33)

7. New Mexico State – 302-298-299=899 (+35)

8. SMU – 303-291-306=900 (+36)

9. UTSA – 298-302-302=902 (+38)

10. Tulsa – 314-294-295=903 (+39)

11. Texas State – 302-297-307=906 (+42)

12. Kansas State – 306-311-310=927 (+63)

13. Lamar – 321 (Withdrew)

Final Individual Results

T1. *Hailey Jones, Oklahoma State – 71-70-71=212 (-4)

T1. Sydney Bryan, UNLV – 70-73-69=212 (-4)

3. Lila Galeai, BYU – 70-74-69=213 (-3)

T4. Nicole Lorup, UNLV – 73-71-70=214 (-2)

T4. Annick Haczkiewicz, BYU – 69-75-70=214 (-2)

T6. Vanessa Bouvet, Nebraska – 78-68-69=215 (-1)

T6. Megan Whittaker, Nebraska – 70-74-71=215 (-1)

T6. Kendall Todd, UNLV – 68-73-74=215 (-1)

9. Ana Gonzalez, UTSA – 73-70-73=216 (E)

T10. *Lianna Bailey, Oklahoma State – 68-78-71=217 (+1)

T10. Jennifer Herbst, Sam Houston State – 70-73-74=217 (+1)

Nebraska Individuals

T6. Vanessa Bouvet – 78-68-69=215 (-1)

T6. Megan Whittaker – 70-74-71=215 (-1)

T14. Kirsten Baete – 74-75-70=219 (+3)

T53. Miu Takahashi – 71-81-80=232 (+16)

T56. Michaela Vavrova – 81-78-74=233 (+17)

59. *Lindsey Thiele – 77-79-78=234 (+18)

*competed as an individual outside the team’s lineup