Oklahoma State University Athletics
Women's Golf Prepares For Big 12 Championships
April 20, 2000 | Cowgirl Golf
April 20, 2000
Fri.-Sun., April 21-23, 1999 - Lubbock Country Club -Lubbock, Texas
54-hole stroke play -par 72 - 6,911 yards
OSU TO COMPETE IN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oklahoma State's Cowgirl golf team will defend its Big 12 title from a year ago as the Cowgirls compete in the 2000 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship. The tournament will be held at the Lubbock Country Club in Lubbock, Texas. It will be a 54-hole stroke-play tournament on the 6,911 yard course that plays to a par 72. Junior Maria Boden will also defend her individual title from a year ago, when she was named the Big 12 Conference's Golfer of the Year.
COWGIRL MENTOR IN FINAL SEASON
After 24 seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, Ann Pitts will retire after the 1999-2000 season. The mentor of the Cowgirl golf program, Pitts put up some outstanding numbers in her career. Her teams won 15 conference titles, including 14 Big Eight Championships and one Big 12 league title. Those teams also made six AIAW Championship Appearances, 15 NCAA Championship Appearances, and finished as high as third nationally in both 1982 and 1989. In 267 tournaments in her tenure, Pitts' teams have won 57 team titles and an additional 30 runnerup finishes. She has had 61 individual medalists, and 17 Cowgirls have won the conference individual title. Pitts was awarded the Gladys Palmer Award in 1987 and again in 1999, honoring her outstanding contributions to women's golf. In three seasons as a league, Pitts has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year twice, and is a four-time honoree of the West Region Coach of the Year.
Oklahoma State Starters
| ##, | Name | Class | Height | Handed | Rds-Stks | Average |
| 1. | Maria Boden | Jr. | 5-5 | Right | 27-1986 | 73.56 |
| 2. | Linda Wessberg | Fr. | 5-8 | Right | 27-2050 | 75.93 |
| 3. | Emma Zackrisson | So. | 5-9 | Right | 27-2082 | 77.11 |
| 4. | Christi Cano | Fr. | 5-2 | Right | 27-2070 | 76.67 |
| 5. | Natasha Rowe | Sr. | 5-6 | Right | 27-2096 | 77.63 |
OSU VS. THE FIELD
Oklahoma State has a 31-3 record vs. the Big 12 schools this season, including unblemished records vs. Baylor (2-0), Colorado (3-0), Iowa State (1-0), Kansas (5-0), Kansas State (2-0), Missouri (4-0), Oklahoma (5-0) and Texas Tech (5-0). The Cowgirls have only one loss vs. each of the other three schools: Nebraska (0-1), Texas (2-1) and Texas A&M (3-1). OSU finished behind Nebraska at the Big 12 Fall Preview (the first tournament of the season), and lost to both Texas and Texas A&M at the Dick McGuire Invitational, the second tournament of the season. Since those first two tournaments, the Cowgirls are 18-0 vs. the Big 12 competition.
CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA
Highlights from this weekend's Big 12 Women's Golf Championships will be available on Sunday, April 23, from 9:45 - 10 p.m. Electronic media outlets can receive the highlights at the following satellite coordinates: Telstar 5, Transponder 24 C-band.
BODEN CONTINUES DOMINANCE
Junior Maria Boden has become one of the most dominant golfers in both OSU and Big 12 Conference history. The 5-5 linkster from Holmsund, Sweden, leads the team and the conference in strokes-per-round average (73.56) and has won three individual medals this season (seven in her career, ranking her fourth behind Eva Dahllof, Val Skinner and Robin Hood). Boden has four top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes this season in nine tournaments. She is currently ranked 22nd nationally, but has been as high as 17th this year.
OSU AT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Since the Big Eight began hosting women's golf tournaments in 1976, Oklahoma State has won 17 team titles, including last year's Big 12 Championship. During the Big Eight years from 1976-96, the Cowgirls never finished lower than second but once when OSU finished third in 1983. Since the Big 12 began in 1997, OSU has gradually improved, finishing fifth in '97, third in 1998 and winning the title in '99. Oklahoma State has also had 17 players win the conference individual title, including Maria Boden a year ago.
OSU's Finish in the Big Eight/Big 12 Championships
Year Finish
Big Eight (1976-96)
1976 3rd
1977 1st
1978 1st
1979 1st
1980 1st
1981 2nd
1982 1st
1983 3rd
1984 1st
1985 1st
1986 1st
1987 1st
1988 1st
1989 1st
1990 2nd
1991 2nd
1992 1st
1993 1st
1994 1st
1995 1st
1996 1st
Big 12 (1997-Present)
1997 5th
1998 3rd
1999 1st
OSU's Individual Medalists at the Big Eight/Big 12 Championships
Year Medalist
Big Eight (1976-96)
1976 Lindsey Wetzel, OU
1977 Patty Zimmer
1978 Alicia Ogrin
1979 Alicia Ogrin
1980 Val Skinner
1981 Dorea Mitchell, OU
1982 Val Skinner
1983 Janice Burba
1984 Robin Hood
1985 Lisa Stone
1986 Robin Hood
1987 Eva Dahllof
1988 Eva Dahllof
1989 Eva Dahllof
1990 Marnie McGuire
1991 Cathy Stevens, OU
1992 Arantxa Sison
1993 Shelley Finnestad, ISU
1994 Charlotta Eliasson
1995 Amy Weeks
1996 Rachelle Tacha, NU
Big 12 (1997-Present)
1997 Heather Bowie, UT
1998 Isabelle Rosberg, A&M
1999 Maria Boden
FRESHMEN STEP IN
Oklahoma State had two freshmen step in and contribute immediately this season. Linda Wessberg (V?stra Fr?lunda, Sweden) and Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) have both earned starting spots in the Cowgirl lineup. Wessberg is second on the team and fourth in the Big 12 in stroke average with 75.93 strokes per round, while Cano is third at OSU and 11th in the leagu at 76.67 strokes per round.
FOUR NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
Oklahoma State had four golfers named to the Academic All-Big 12 team, it was announced Wednesday. Senior Natasha Rowe, junior Maria Boden, sophomore Emma Zackrisson and redshirt freshman JoAnn Heller all earned first-team honors. Rowe earned her third Academic All-Big 12 nomination, while Zackrisson has been named for the second time.
COWGIRLS IN THE BIG 12 STANDINGS
All five starters for Oklahoma State rank in the top-20 in the Big 12 in stroke average, led by junior Maria Boden (1st with 73.56 strokes per round). Freshman Linda Wessberg is fourth at 75.93 spr, while fellow freshman Christi Cano is 11th at 76.67 spr, and sophomore Emma Zackrisson is 12th at 77.11 spr. Senior Natasha Rowe rounds out OSU's starters, as her 77.48 strokes per round are good enough for 17th in the league.
