Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Golfers Prepare For Nationals
May 20, 2002 | Cowgirl Golf
May 20, 2002
No. 6 Oklahoma State at the
NCAA Division I Women's Golf
National Championships
QUICK FACTS
Tuesday - Friday * May 21-24
Washington National Golf Club
Auburn, Wash.
72-hole stroke play
par 72 *6,273 yards
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Oklahoma State Golfers
No., Name Class Height Handed Rds-Stks Average 1. Emma Zackrisson Sr. 5-9 Right 35-2629 75.11 2. Christi Cano Jr. 5-3 Right 35-2635 75.29 3. Linda Wessberg Jr. 5-8 Right 35-2643 75.51 4. Annie Thurman Fr. 5-3 Right 35-2715 77.57 5. Jenny Karr Fr. 5-8 Right 20-1600 80.00
COWGIRLS TO COMPETE IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oklahoma State's Cowgirl Golf team will travel to Auburn, Wash., to compete in NCAA Women's Golf Division I NCAA Championships. The tournament will be held at the Washington National Golf Club on Tuesday-Friday, May 21-24. OSU advanced to the National Championships after a fifth-place finish at the Central Regional. The tournament will begin at 8 a.m. each day on the 6,273-yard, par-72 course. Oklahoma State will tee off beginning at 8:10 a.m. on Tuesday off tee No. 1 and at 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday off tee No. 10. The tee times on Thursday and Friday will be based on team standings from the first two rounds. Fans can access real-time scoring of the tournament on the internet at www.okstate.com or live.golfstat.com.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Oklahoma State shot a final-round score of 296, finishing fifth at the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Central Regional in East Lansing, Mich. All five Cowgirl golfers finished in the top 40, including a 19th-place finish by freshman Jenny Karr, who shot a 76 during the final round and finished with a 232. Emma Zackrisson finished one stroke back at 233, good for 30th place. Christi Cano and Linda Wessberg each finished with a 235, good for 34th place, while Annie Thurman finished one stroke back at 236, in 39th place. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane shot a tournament-best 290 and won the Central Regional with a team score of 914, four strokes better than second-place Ohio State and Texas. Purdue finished fourth, one stroke ahead of Oklahoma State's 921. Michigan finished sixth with a 929, followed by Oklahoma (931) and Michigan State (932). Kent State, which was in first place after two rounds, shot a final-round 312 and dropped from the top eight and did not advance.
OSU AT NATIONALS
Oklahoma State has advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second-straight year, the first time for back-to-back appearances since 1989-90. This will be the Cowgirls' 11th appearance at the NCAA Championships, and 16th national appearance overall. OSU finished fifth at last year's NCAAs in Florida. Oklahoma State's top finish is a third-place outing in both 1982 and again in 1989. The Cowgirls have seven top-10 finishes since the NCAA Championships began in 1982. Last year's 1194 total is the lowest 72-hole score in school history, six strokes ahead of OSU's 1200 score in 1992. Oklahoma State's closest finish to the top was in 1989, when OSU lost by 10 strokes.
OSU VERSUS THE FIELD
Oklahoma State is 53-30-1 overall vs. the participants in the NCAA Championships, good for an 63.7 winning percentage. Thirty of OSU's 35 losses this season have come vs. team in the tournament. The Cowgirls have defeated all but two teams in the tournament: Auburn, which is 3-0 vs. Oklahoma State, and South Florida, which OSU has not competed against this season. The Cowgirls have a .500 or better record vs. 18 of the 23 other teams in the NCAA Championships.
THE NCAA FALL PREVIEW
In a tournament that had three rain delays and was finally called after two complete rounds, the Oklahoma State Cowgirl golf team finished 10th at the NCAA Fall Preview. Linda Wessberg tied for fourth with a one-over-par 145 for the two-round tournament. Twenty-two teams that were entered in the event finished in the top-50 nationally last season. OSU was ranked 10th following last season's fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. At the Fall Preview, the Cowgirls finished ahead of five teams that were ranked in the top-10 at the end of last season. Oklahoma State finished ahead of top-ranked Duke, No. 2 Arizona, fifth-ranked USC, No. 6 Stanford and ninth-ranked New Mexico State. Auburn and Texas tied for the tournament championship after rain cancelled the final round. Tulsa finished third, followed by Ohio State and Michigan State. Arizona's Lorena Ochoa, the national Player of the Year last season, won the individual title with a five-under 139. Wessberg finished five strokes behind Ochoa with a trio of golfers. Junior Christi Cano and senior Emma Zackrisson both tied for 32nd place with a seven-over 156. Freshman Annie Thurman finished with a 158, while Jennifer Karr rounded out the Cowgirl scores with a 164.
COWGIRLS EARN CONFERENCE HONORS
Oklahoma State's Emma Zackrisson, Christi Cano and Linda Wessberg were all named first-team All-Big 12 in a vote of the league coaches. It is the first time in the conference's six-year history that three golfers from the same school have made the first team. Zackrisson and Cano were both named to the Big 12 Championships all-tournament team for placing in the top-10 individually. Finally, Zackrisson earned medalist honors at the Big 12 Women's Golf Championships by one stroke over Kansas State's Christine Boucher. Both Zackrisson and Wessberg were named first-team Academic All-Big 12 as well.
COWGIRLS RANK HIGH IN BIG 12
Emma Zackrisson, Christi Cano and Linda Wessberg rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the latest Big 12 individual stroke averages. Zackrisson (75.11) is just 11/100ths of a stroke behind Texas' Janice Olivencia (75.00), who leads the league in stroke average, and 1/100th of a stroke behind Oklahoma's Lisa Meldrum. Cano is fourth with a 75.29 strokes per round average, while Wessberg ranks fifth with a 75.51 strokes-per-round average. All three were named to the first-team All-Big 12. Freshman Annie Thurman is 19th in the Big 12 at 77.57 strokes per round, while fellow freshman Jenny Karr is 45th at 80 strokes per round.
TRIO RANKED NATIONALLY
The aforementioned trio has also garnered national attention as all three are ranked in the top-30 individually. Senior Emma Zackrisson is ranked 22nd nationally after winning the Big 12 Championship. Junior Christi Cano is 26th, while fellow junior Linda Wessberg is 28th. Oklahoma State joins Auburn and Duke as the only three schools with three golfers listed in the top 30. Auburn has four. Georgia, Pepperdine and USC each have two golfers ranked in the top 30.
FRESHMEN COMING INTO THEIR OWN
Annie Thurman and Jenny Karr, a pair of freshmen, have both been a big part of OSU's success this season. In 12 tournaments this season, she already has three top-20 finishes and a top-10 placing. Karr, who has played in seven tournaments this season for the Cowgirls, has been a consistent No. 5 golfer and was had the highest finish by an OSU golfer at last week's NCAA Central Regional, a 19th-place finish. Add in Lisa Jean, a freshman that competed in four events this season with a top-20 finish, and the core of next year's Cowgirl golf team appears to be solid.
ZACKRISSON EARNS ACADEMIC AWARD
Cowgirl senior Emma Zackrisson was one of 11 student-athletes named to the first team of the Verizon Academic All-District VI University Division At-Large team. It was her first such honor. With the naming, she will now advance to the national ballot and have a chance to earn Verizon Academic All-America honors. She is a four-time Academic All-Big 12 member, and was an NGCA All-Scholar member her junior year.
2002 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
Oklahoma State took a 13-stroke lead after the first round, and failed to relinquish it as the Cowgirls won their second-straight and third overall Big 12 title. It was OSU's 17th conference title, including 14 Big Eight titles. Senior Emma Zackrisson took home medalist honors with a one-stroke win over Kansas State's Christine Boucher. Zackrisson shot a three-under-par 69 during the first round and held off for the win, despite a 79 during the final round of play. Junior Christi Cano finished sixth, garnering all-tournament accolades. Freshman Annie Thurman ended in 13th in her first conference championship, and junior Linda Wessberg finished 17th for four top-20 finishes. Zackrisson's individual title was the 18th in school history.
COWGIRLS FOURTH NATIONALLY IN SUB-PAR HOLES
According to golfstat.com, Oklahoma State is fourth nationally in sub-par holes as a team. Auburn leads with 326, followed by Tulsa (315) and Arizona State (305). OSU is fourth at 285, seven ahead of USC (278). Here is a look at the top-10 teams in tournaments scored by golfstat.
