Tiger Women Finish Tapatio Springs Shootout in 2nd Place
3/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
March 25, 2003
Boerne, Texas. - The University of Missouri women's golf wrapped up play at the Tapatio Springs Shootout in Boerne, Texas on Tuesday. The Tigers finished in second place with a three-round total of 921, just three strokes behind tournament champion Illinois. Mizzou had a one-stroke lead heading into the final round and it took a tournament-best round of 297 from the Illini to take the lead from the Tigers in the last round.
"We are a young squad that is learning what it takes to close out tournaments," head coach Stephanie Cooper said. "We are putting ourselves in a position to win these events and I am extremely pleased with how we are playing heading into the month of April."
Freshman Kelli Strubinger was the Tigers top individual finisher, finishing in 7th place with a three-round total of 227, just six strokes off of the lead. The 7th-place finish was Strubinger's best of her young career; her previous top finish had been last fall at the Mason Rudolph Collegiate Golf Championship, where she fired a 225 and finished in 12th place.
Fellow freshman Denise Knaebel also had a strong showing in the tourney, finishing in a tie for 13th place after firing her lowest round of the spring so far (73) for a tourney total of 231. In her last two outings, Knaebel has finished in Top 15 both times and has been extremely consistent with scores of 230 at the Oregon Duck Invitational and 231 at the Tapatio.
Senior Elin Ohlsson came on strong in the final two rounds of the tourney. After shooting an opening round of 81, the talented native of Sweden shot rounds of 75 and 78 to finish alone in 16th place. Sophomore Maria Ohlsson also made a surge in the final two rounds with a 76 in the second round and a 75 in the third round to finish in a four-way tie for 21st with a three-round total of 236, just seven strokes out of the Top 10. Junior Mindy Bullard rounded out the Tigers scoring with a three-day total of 242, putting her in a three-way tie for 36th.
The Tigers are now off until April 4-5 when they travel to the IU Women's Invitational in Bloomington, Ind. That will be their final outing before opening play in the Big 12 Tournament, which the Tigers will host at the Country Club of Missouri on April 21-23. For more information on Tiger women's golf, log on to www.mutigers.com.
TEAM STANDINGS Pl Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total 1 Illinois 311 310 297 918 2 Missouri 311 305 305 921 3 Baylor 312 310 301 923 4 TCU 298 319 308 925 5 Kent State 315 316 304 935 6 Wisconsin 313 332 297 942 7 TX A&M Corp. 318 327 309 954 8 Notre Dame 318 326 319 966 9 McLennan CC 321 332 313 966 10 North Texas 329 325 314 968 11 Texas El Paso 327 326 316 969 12 Texas-Pan Am 335 335 333 1003INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Pl Player (School) 1st 2nd 3rd Tot 1 DRae Ward (TCU) 68 75 78 221 2 Renata Young (Ill.) 76 72 74 222 3 Randi Gauthier (NTU) 75 74 75 224 Malinda Johnson (UW) 76 77 71 224 5 Melanie Hagewood (BU) 77 77 71 225 7 Kelli Strubinger (MU) 71 75 81 227 12 Denise Knaebel (MU) 75 83 73 231 16 Elin Ohlsson (MU) 81 75 78 234 21 Maria Ohlsson (MU) 85 76 75 236 *34 Stephanie Turner (MU) 78 82 81 241 36 Mindy Bullard (MU) 84 79 79 242
