Jayhawks take 5th in Big 12 tourney

Monday, April 27, 2009

With its best finish ever in the Big 12, the Kansas women’s golf team couldn’t be happier. The team took fifth place in the conference tournament this weekend in Lubbock, Texas.

Kansas was ranked 11th coming into the tournament but after three days of playing the team finished with a program-best performance of 945 strokes.

Kansas State beat the Jayhawks by one stroke, taking fourth place.

Big 12 Championship

Strokes Place

Kansas 945 5

Meghan Gockel 230 T6

Sydney Wilson 238 T28

Emily Powers 240 T34

Grace Thiry 242 T41

Meghna Bal 242 T41

“It always comes down to the wire at tournaments like this,” Coach Erin O’Neil said. “Either way we did a great job this weekend.”

Junior Meghan Gockel, who tied for sixth place overall, led the team. Gockel said she thought the team finished pretty well. She also said she thought that she played well overall but that there were still ways for the team to improve.

“I didn’t come in with expectations for the tournament, but if I had, I think I definitely exceeded them,” Gockel said.

One of the things that the team has been working on is its mental game, O’Neil said. She said the girls stayed in control and focused despite some tough playing conditions this weekend.

Gockel said the team had made progress on its mental game over the course of the season. She added that the team could still make some improvements to its overall performance despite the impressive finish.

“I think this tournament was a step in the right direction for us as a team and our progress,” Gockel said.

Looking back on the season and Gockel’s performance Sunday, O’Neil said Gockel had made a lot of progress as a player. O’Neil said she was pleased with Gockel’s mental toughness and her ability to motivate others on the team.

“Meghan leads by example for the rest of the girls,” O’Neil said. “She’s an amazing athlete and student for the rest of the girls to look up to.”

Kansas has never made the NCAA Regional tournament as a team and has only had a few individuals qualify for the tournament. Last year, junior Emily Powers qualified as an individual for the tournament. With an outstanding finish at the Big 12 tournament though, this could be the first time the Jayhawks make an appearance at the NCAA regionals.

O’Neil said the selection committee for the tournament will hold a large phone conference to announce its selections sometime today. O’Neil said that the team’s performance may have moved them up in the rankings but that she was not sure it would be enough to qualify them.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, because we’re going to be on the bubble for getting in,” O’Neil said.

— — Edited by Melissa Johnson

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