In the battle for the final Big Eight women’s golf crown, the Iowa State women’s golf team managed to mount a comeback on Oklahoma State at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines on April 22 and 23.

Over the final 18 holes, the women were able to set a school record of 300 strokes for a team, vaulting the Cyclones to a second place finish.

Among those shooting under 75 for the round included sophomore Fiona Watson and sophomore Cathy Matthews with their rounds of 74, while senior Holly Duncan posted a final round of 75.

Watson led the team with a final card of 240 strokes over the 54-hole tournament.

“I am very happy,” the sophomore said. “I never expected to be here.”

What Watson was referring to was her first appearance on the All-Big Eight team with her tied-for-sixth finish as an individual.

“I gave it 110 percent and that is all I can ask for,” she said.

Duncan followed with a final card of 241 strokes to finish in a tie for eighth place in the individual race.

“I was really happy with my short game,” Duncan said. “It pulled me out of some clutches sometimes.”

Despite a disastrous start, Matthews was able to put together two solid rounds to finish the tournament with a final tally of 245 strokes.

“The wind was such a factor on my first round,” Matthews said. “It is hard to convince yourself that you need to move up three clubs.

“I just had to readjust after the first round and try to help the team. I was able to start with a fresh 18 on my second round of the day and adjusted my mishitting.”

Matthews said her putting wasn’t on the first round either.

“I had trouble with my putting. I took 42 putts on my first round, 36 in the second and 35 today,” she said. “I finally got it going in the second round.”

Other Cyclone golfers playing in the tournament were senior Beth Bader and junior Gwynn Shepherd.

Bader was able to rebound from her first day scores of 82-89 with a final round 77 to finish with a final total of 248 strokes.

Shepherd was the most consistent as far as scoring with her rounds of 83-84-82 (249).

Head Coach Julie Manning was thrilled with her team’s performance.

“Overall I was happy with the tournament,” Manning said. “They all gave 110 percent and that is all I can ask for.

“Our main goal was to come down here and win the Big Eight Championship. But we didn’t beat ourselves.

“Yesterday was like hitting a brick wall,” she said. “We re-evaluated and adjusted.”

“We told ourselves that we had to have second place,” she added.

Manning said that the scores shows a lot of depth in the program.

“Anyone of our six girls can shoot 74 on any given day,” Manning said. “All have been medalists at one time or another.”

Oklahoma State managed to get off to a fast start for the tournament. The Cowgirls managed to place three individuals in the top 10, led by JoJo Robertson with her 232 stroke total.

Joining Robertson in the top 10 included Anna Lindblom and Jenny Bartley with 238 strokes for fifth place. Lindblom finished the tournament in fourth place with her 234 stroke total.

The individual medalist honor was taken by Rochelle Tacha with her final tally of 231 strokes.

“I would like to dedicate this award to Brook Berringer,” Tacha said “He was a good person and a great friend.”

The Cornhuskers finished in a tie for third place in the team title standings with Oklahoma.

Nebraska took 305 strokes over the final 18 holes en route to their total of 974 strokes.

The Sooners meanwhile tallied 304 to join the Cornhuskers’ 974.

Missouri, who began the day in second place, dropped to fifth with their 320 stroke total and 985 overall. Missouri was led by Kristen Samp with her 233 stroke total over 54 holes.

The tournament result should have helped Iowa State gain the final berth in the NCAA Regional.

“It appears that the only way we won’t get in is if Michigan wins the Big Ten Tournament in Indiana and that doesn’t look very likely,” Manning said.

“I think this will be our fourth straight year at regionals, now it’s time to go to nationals,” Duncan said. “I think this is the team to do it.”