Sooners Win 2008 Susie Maxwell

April 7, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. - On a day with a typically-strong Oklahoma wind, the No. 40 OU women's golf team pulled through to bring home the 2008 Susie Maxwell Berning Classic Championship. With a final-round 298 (+10), the No. 40-ranked Sooners defeated runner-up Arkansas-Little Rock by four strokes.

"It's huge, going into the Big 12 Championship especially," OU head coach Carol Ludvigson said. "And just building some confidence out here. We always know that we can put three good rounds together, and we did it. The other thing that was really neat about it was in the first round having Heather out of the lineup, we had Ryanne (Elmer) and Ellen (Mueller) really pick up the pace. We know that they can handle the pressure, which is great."

Kendall Dye, the first and second-round leader, finished the deal Monday to become OU's first medalist since Lisa Meldrum at the 2004 Susie Maxwell Berning Classic. Dye fired a 73 (+1) to finish tied with Oral Roberts' Christy Carter for the individual medalist honor. They each had three-round scores of 214 (-2) and were declared co-champions. It is the first win of Dye's collegiate career.

"It feels pretty sweet," Dye said of the team and individual victories. "It's been a good last two days. I'm really proud of my team. We really pulled through, because the pressure can get so high when you're playing on your home course. We pulled through even though we lost a few shots today. The conditions were kind of tough, but once again the girls pulled through, and I'm just more proud of them for that. This hopefully assures us a seed in the regional tournament."

The junior from Edmond, Okla., led the field this week in par-4 scoring with a 3.93 average (-2 total). After shooting under-par in the first two rounds, Dye gutted it out on a tougher Monday.

"It was kind of a ho-hum day," Dye explained. "Yesterday I made more putts. There were a few shots that I left out there today. I was kind of playing conservative, but with aggressive swings. I didn't have as many birdie opportunities today, I missed a lot of greens because of poor club selection. But it was a pretty good day, I'm happy. This will be really good momentum going into the Big 12 Championship."

Ludvigson was also pleased to see Dye come through with her first tournament title.

"I'm so excited about Kendall," Coach Ludvigson said. "I think she is the type of player that once she gets a win, now the lid is off and she can go ahead and feel free to win. It makes it easier, not only to put yourself in that position, but also to be able to close it out at the end."

Playing in her final Susie Maxwell Berning Classic, senior Kelly Jacques made the most of it with her best showing at the tournament in her four times to play it. She shot a 75 Monday, and combined with her back-to-back 72s on Sunday she placed in seventh place alone at 219 (+3). It marked the 10th top-10 finish of her successful Sooner career.

Freshman Ellen Mueller posted the best 54-hole tournament score of her young career this week. Her three-round total of 222 (+6) placed her in a tie for 10th place, the second top 10 of her career. Her final-round 73 (+1) also tied a career-low.

Ryanne Elmer finished in a tie for 34th place for the Sooners. It was the second-best finish of her career, with the best coming a week ago at the MountainView Collegiate. The sophomore carded a 77 on Monday for a total of 230 (+14).

Senior Heather Wright closed her Susie Maxwell Berning Classic career with a final-round 79 (+7). After withdrawing from the first round with a wrist injury, she fought through the pain and returned to complete the final two rounds for her team.

Andrea Sellmeyer had a solid showing as an individual this week. Closing with season-low 73 (+1) on Monday, the sophomore from McAlester, Okla., finished in a tie for 34th place at 230 (+14).

Junior Staci Smoot posted a final-round 76 to finish tied for 43rd at 233 (+17), sophomore Chelsey Collins placed tied for 52nd at 237 (+21), and junior Sydney Lee completed the OU scoring with 249 (+33), tied for 80th place.

"The wind that we played in today in the first part of the round was a northeast wind, and we're not usually playing that," Ludvigson said. "It was interesting to see the club selection. I think the kids really adjusted well to that. Then it switched at the end. It was interesting, but they really handled it well, stayed focused and hit a lot of knockdown shots, which is critical when it's real windy."

The Sooners as a team led the field in par-4 scoring with an average of 4.17 (+24 total). Their 34 birdies placed them second for the week behind only Arkansas-Little Rock.

With the regular season in the books and the Big 12 Championship on the horizon, Ludvigson and the Sooners look to get ready for another strong showing.

"The most important thing we need to work on is shots from 100 yards and in. Also chipping and putting, knockdown shots, and just playing. We will play a lot and make sure that we're really putting some scores on the board, making the ball go in the hole no matter how we're hitting it."

The Big 12 Championship takes place April 25-27 at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.

Team Standings
1. Oklahoma - 295-292-298=885 (+21)
2. Arkansas-Little Rock - 302-292-295=889 (+25)
3. Kansas - 304-300-294=898 (+34)
4. Iowa State - 305-294-307=906 (+42)
5. Wisconsin - 301-297-312=910 (+46)
6. Missouri State - 310-293-308=911 (+47)
T7. Baylor - 304-298-310=912 (+48)
T7. Oklahoma City - 306-301-305=912 (+48)
9. SMU - 306-307-301=914 (+50)
10. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 306-308-303=917 (+53)
11. UTEP - 306-304-309=919 (+55)
12. Oral Roberts - 314-303-305=922 (+58)
13. Bucknell - 316-308-315=939 (+75)
14. North Texas - 312-319-318=949 (+85)
15. Kennesaw State - 327-311-321=959 (+95)
16. Old Dominion - 330-317-328=975 (+111)

Individual Standings
T1. Kendall Dye, Oklahoma - 70-71-73=214 (-2)
T1. Christy Carter, Oral Roberts - 76-67-71=214 (-2)
T3. Pennapa Pulsawath, Iowa State - 75-71-72=218 (+2)
T3. Missy Linnens, Missouri State - 74-70-74=218 (+2)
T3. Sara Wikstrom, Arkansas-Little Rock - 72-70-76=218 (+2)
T3. Ashley Sholer, Oklahoma City - 73-71-74=218 (+2)

OU Individual Standings
T1. Kendall Dye - 70-71-73=214 (-2)
7. Kelly Jacques - 72-72-75=219 (+3)
T10. Ellen Mueller - 75-74-73=222 (+6)
T34. Ryanne Elmer - 78-75-77=230 (+14)
T34. Andrea Sellmeyer - 76-81-73=230 (+14)
T43. Staci Smoot - 76-81-76=233 (+17)
T52. Chelsey Collins - 82-78-77=237 (+21)
T80. Sydney Lee - 85-82-82=249 (+33)
WD. Heather Wright - WD-77-79

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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