It was a rough season finish for the Iowa State women’s golf team. The Cyclones finished eighth at the Big 12 Championship in Norman, Okla., on Sunday. ISU was in 11th after the first day, shooting a 336.

“Having a score like that on the first day pretty much takes you out of the action,” Coach Julie Manning said.

“I think they were kind of shell-shocked with the pressure of the Big 12, and they didn’t react well. I’m proud of how they came back, we had to re-adjust our goals and creep back into it.”

ISU shot 314 and 310 during the final two rounds, which would have placed them fifth.

The Cyclones were led by Cathy Matthews, who missed being named All-Big 12 by one shot, finishing 13th for the second time in her career. The senior shot rounds of 81-79-73 for a total of 233. Her last round was a career low on the 72-par course.

“I played O.K., but everyone struggled the first day,” Matthews said. “We had to regroup and we played well the second and third rounds.”

The ISU women faced extremely windy conditions which contributed to the high scores. Throughout their practice round they had perfect conditions, but during the first day of competition played in 40-mph winds. After the first round, the team hit balls into the wind for three hours so the linksters could learn to cope with the windy weather.

“I think some people had a lot of self-induced pressure and freaked out, especially Noel (Jacobusse) who was 15 over par after three holes, but then they settled down,” Matthews said.

The Cyclones shot a total of 960, while Texas A&M shot a 919 to take the team title.

The Aggies also took the individual medalist and runner-up spots with Isabelle Rosberg taking the top spot with a 225, while Aggie Jamie Hullett tied with Texas’ Laura Blessy and Missouri’s Stefanie Mitchell for second.

In the 60-golfer field, Cathy Ennis finished 28th. Fiona Watson, Sara Linneman, and Jacobusse completed the tournament 46th, 50th, and 56th respectively.

“I think they were putting a lot of pressure on themselves because they are very goal oriented,” Manning said. “They didn’t relax between shots. You have to ache for them because they try so hard and there is really no release in golf.”