Butler Places 14th At Lady Indian Classic

Oct. 10, 2006

Junior Niki Garden rebounded from a slow start to tie for 30th place and pace Butler at the 19-team 2006 Lady Indian Classic hosted by Arkansas State on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 9-10. Butler finished 14th in the final team standings.

Garden opened the 54-hole tournament with an 83, before bouncing back with rounds of 76 and 77. Her second round 76 on the 6,032-yard RidgePointe Country Club layout matched the best single round by a Butler player. Garden missed a "Top 20" finish by just four strokes, and her three-round score of 236 was just one stroke out of 25th place.

Sophomore Lauren Showers tied for 49th place with rounds of 81, 76 and 85 (242), while junior Paige McCracken tied for 56th with scores of 79, 83 and 81 (243). Sophomore Ashlen Christie tied for 69th (85-78-85, 248) and senior Sarah Swanson tied for 73rd (82-84-84, 250).

Oral Roberts won the team title with a three-round score of 914, while Arkansas-Little Rock finished two strokes back in second place. Sara Wikstrom of Arkansas-Little Rock captured medalist honors with a score of even par 216. Wikstrom shot an opening-round, three-under-par 69.