“Very, very disappointed” were the first words women’s golf head coach Julie Manning could think of to describe her team’s performance in the Big 12 Preview this past Monday and Tuesday.

“As a whole, we were embarrassed by the performance,” Manning said.

The team finished a disappointing 12th out of a possible 12 teams in the conference.

“The opportunity was there to gain respect. It just slipped right through our fingers.” she added.

Manning said she was upset because she felt that it was her job to get the team ready.

After a good summer and positive qualifying rounds, the team seemed ready to jump right in and compete in the conference.

Now, Manning said, they will have to go back to basics and find out who really wants to compete.

Despite the low finish a few positives did come out of the weekend.

After shooting an extremely high 329 in the first round, the team regrouped and played more consistently in the next two rounds.

Also, after shooting an 85 on the first day, freshman Laura Wells improved her performance in the rest of the tournament.

Cathy Ennis led the Cyclones, shooting a 239 on the tournament, finishing in a tie for 40th place. Heather Elenbaa and Wells finished 43rd and 46th respectively.

In overall team action, unexpectedly, the host Nebraska took the team title.

They outlasted favorites Oklahoma State and Oklahoma who rounded out the top three.

In individual action, OSU’s Maria Boden won medalist honors in an extremely close battle thst came down to the final few holes.

Completing the top three were Nebraska’s Sarah Sasse and Oklahoma’s Isabelle Blais.

Next on the schedule for the women linksters is the Lady Razorback Invitational this weekend.

“There’s no time to sit around, we have to regroup and go right back out there.” Manning said. “This will probably be better for us — not sitting around thinking about it.”

The upcoming tournament will consist of 13 teams from around the country.

Some of the better teams competing this weekend are Nebraska, Florida and the host Razorbacks from Arkansas.

Once again, Manning said she expects her team to regroup and hopefully finish in the top five or six.

The team will hold qualifying for the tournament on Thursday and Friday. Manning said there could be some changes in the lineup.

“Hopefully we learned a lot and get the players out there who can compete,” she said.