Smith Leads Huskers at NCAA Regional

Columbus, Ohio – Kate Smith shot a second-round 74 to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Tuesday.

Smith, a fifth-year senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., overcame a slow start that included bogeys on No. 10 and 11 to open the round before a double-bogey on No. 13 that pushed her to four-over-par through four holes. But the reigning Big Ten champion recovered to play the final 14 holes of the round at two-under-par. Her 74 (+2) on the demanding 6,358-yard layout of Ohio State’s Scarlet Course allowed her to climb 30 spots up the leader board on Tuesday into a tie for 40th at 152. She opened the tournament with a 78 on Monday. She is just four strokes out of the top 20 in the field heading into Wednesday’s final round.

Freshman Michaela Vavrova (Bojnice, Slovakia) added a solid round with a 75 after matching Smith with a 78 in Monday’s first round. At 153 (+9), Vavrova is tied for 46th in the 96-player field. 

The rest of the Huskers struggled on Tuesday, with Kirsten Baete (Beatrice, Neb.) and Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) providing NU with its other two counting scores of the day with matching rounds of 82. Graduate transfer Alice Duan (Reno, Nev.), who posted Nebraska’s best round with a 75 on Monday, settled for an 83 on Tuesday. Duan and Whittaker move to the final round in a tie for 77th at 158, while Baete is tied for 90th at 167.

As challenging as the Scarlet Course played on Monday, it was even tougher for the competitors in the second round with only three of the 18 regional-qualifying teams posting better scores in the second round compared to their first-round totals. 

Georgia stormed to the top of the team leader board with an even-par 288 on Tuesday, one stroke better than the Bulldogs’ 289 on Monday. Georgia’s 577 (+1) total through 36 holes was good enough for a seven-stroke lead over Michigan (584) heading to the final round. The Wolverines followed their 288 on Monday with a 296 (+8) on Tuesday. Defending national champion Duke slipped to third on the leader board at 578 (+9), one shot back of Michigan. The Blue Devils opened with a 287 (-1) on Monday, before posting a 298 (+10) on Tuesday.

Kent State (291-298-589), Arizona State (291-301-592) and Kentucky (298-295-593) round out the top six in the team standings heading to Wednesday’s final round. The top six teams in the regional will advance to the 24-team NCAA Championship. Kentucky made the biggest move up the leader board on Tuesday, climbing five spots into sixth by posting a second-round 295 that was three strokes better than the Wildcats’ opening-round 298.

Oklahoma took the biggest tumble down the leader board, as the Sooners slipped eight spots into ninth after posting Monday’s best round with a 286 (-2). OU managed a 312 (+24) on Tuesday. 

Overall, the 18 teams used 138 more strokes to complete the course on Tuesday, with the average team score being nearly eight strokes higher in the second round. Nebraska finished with a 313 in the second round, after posting a 307 on Monday. At 620, the Huskers sit in a tie for 15th with New Mexico (310-310).

Wednesday’s final round is set to begin with tee times at 8 a.m. (CT). Nebraska will be paired with Youngstown State and Evansville starting on No. 10 at 9:50 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available from GolfStat.com. 

NCAA Columbus Regional

The Scarlet Course (Par 72, 6,358 Yards)

Columbus, Ohio

May 10-12, 2021

Team Standings (Two Rounds)

1. Georgia (18) – 289-288-577 (+1)

2. Michigan (26) – 288-296-584 (+8)

3. Duke (2) – 287-298-585 (+9)

4. Kent State (15) – 291-298-589 (+13)

5. Arizona State (7) – 291-301-592 (+16)

6. Kentucky (37) – 298-295-593 (+17)

7. Virginia (11) – 296-299-595 (+19)

8. Vanderbilt (24) – 297-300-597 (+21)

9. Oklahoma (33) – 286-312-598 (+22)

10. Clemson (30) – 299-303-602 (+26)

11. Campbell – 298-306-604 (+28)

12. Illinois (42) – 297-310-607 (+31)

13. Coastal Carolina – 298-313-611 (+35)

14. Washington – 296-316-612 (+36)

T15. Nebraska (49) – 307-313-620 (+44)

T15. New Mexico (46) – 310-310-620 (+44)

17. Youngstown State – 322-318-640 (+64)

18. Evansville – 323-335-658 (+82)

Individual Standings (Two Rounds)

1. Jenny Bae, Georgia – 71-68-139 (-5)

2. Monet Chun, Michigan – 70-70-140 (-4)

3. Isabella Holpfer, Georgia – 72-70-142 (-2)

4. Caley McGinty, Kent State – 70-73-143 (-1)

T5. Maria Villanueva, Kentucky – 73-71-144 (E)

T5. Celina Sattelkau, Vanderbilt – 72-72-144 (E)

T5. Beth Lillie, Virginia – 72-72-144 (E)

T5. Gina Kim, Duke – 70-74-144 (E)

T5. Hailey Borja, Michigan – 69-75-144 (E)

10. Linn Grant, Arizona State – 71-74-145 (+1)

Nebraska Individuals

T40. Kate Smith – 78-74-152 (+8)

T46. Michaela Vavrova – 78-75-153 (+9)

T77. Alice Duan – 75-83-158 (+14)

T77. Megan Whittaker – 76-82-158 (+14)

T90. Kirsten Baete – 85-82-167 (+23)