May 23, 2003

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Kansas State junior Christine Boucher finished up play at the 2003 NCAA Women's Golf Championships tied for 64th place after shooting a solid 5-over par 77 during Friday's fourth and final round at the par-72, 6,300-yard Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

She finished her first trip to Nationals with a 72-hole score of 23-over 311, including Thursday's red-hot total of 1-under 71 that was the first under-par round of the tournament turned in by an individual at the Championships.

However, unlike Thursday, the puts just weren't dropping for Boucher during the final round.

"Christine probably drove the ball better today than she's done all week," said K-State coach Kristi Knight. "Like yesterday, she created a lot of birdie chances for herself, they just didn't fall."

Opening on the front nine, Boucher shot even-par on the first three holes before taking bogeys on 4 and 8 to make the turn at 2-over. A bogey on 10, a hole she eagled during the third round, was followed by three straight pars and it appeared the junior was finding her grove. But bogeys on three of the final five holes erased any chance of getting back to even-par on the day.

Still it was a solid ending to an interesting tournament for Boucher, who was K-State's first ever participant at the NCAA Championships and will look to build on the experience during her senior season.

"I'm glad she had a good round yesterday and a solid round today," Knight said. "I think she'll leave (the Championships) with a good feeling. I think she feels like she belonged and that she wants to get back here next year and play her game for all four rounds."

Southern California captured the team title, shooting a combined 45-over 1,197. USC's Mikaela Parmlid and Florida's Andrea Vander Lende shared individual medalist honors at 9-over 297.

2003 NCAA Women's Golf Championships
Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex
West Lafayette, Ind.
Par: 72, Yardage: 6,300

Team Results (Final)
1. 1197 USC; 2. 1212 Pepperdine; 3. 1213 Texas; 4. 1214 Ohio State; T5. 1216 Oklahoma State, UCLA; 7. 1217 Arizona; 8 1221 Florida; 9. 1224 Auburn; 10. 1225 Duke; 11. 1226 Georgia; 12. 1234 Purdue; 13. 1241 North Carolina; T14. 1242 California; Vanderbilt; 16. 1245 Stanford; 17. 1248 South Carolina; 18. 1250 Arizona State; T19. 1256 Florida State, Kent State; 21. 1257 Tulsa; 22. 1281 Nebraska; 23. 1288 Washington State; 24. 1291 Wisconsin.

Top 5 Individuals
T1. 297 Mikaela Parmlid, USC; Andrea Vander Lende, Florida; T3. 298 Erica Blasberg, Arizona; Irene Cho, USC; 5. 299 Kim Welch, Washington State.

Kansas State Individual
T64. Christine Boucher, 311.