photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas women's golf coach Lindsay Kuhle

Kansas matched its national ranking by coming in 21st place after three rounds of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, but missed the cut to advance to Monday and so concluded its season.

“We showed up today and we finished strong,” KU coach Lindsay Kuhle said in a press release on Sunday night. “We represented KU, and to finish 21st in the rankings and 21st at the national championship is very impressive.”

The Jayhawks shot their best round at 6-over on Sunday and jumped up two places, but were 31-over in total and still wound up 13 strokes below the 15th-place cutoff.

Senior Lauren Clark, who led the way for KU on the weekend, shot 5-over herself over the course of the three days and was just one stroke short of continuing on Monday as an individual from a non-advancing team.

Freshman Ebba Nordstedt was 7-over, junior Amy DeKock shot 10-over and senior Johanna Ebner finished at 12-over, though she was KU’s best golfer on the final day as she shot even par. That matched Clark’s first-round performance as the best individual showing from any Jayhawk in the event.

Sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh, who made history for KU as its first-ever regional champion — as the Jayhawks won the Columbus Regional as a team to clinch their spot at nationals — only served as KU’s fourth score in one of the three rounds and shot 19-over in Carlsbad.

“They never gave up, and that makes me so proud to be their coach,” Kuhle said. “We’re just really proud of the year we had and incredibly grateful for the opportunity.”

Kuhle led KU to its first NCAA Championship appearance since 2014, as well as an unprecedented six team titles and five individual victories (by three different golfers). While Clark, Ebner, Lily Hirst and Jordan Rothman exhaust their eligibility, KU will have key returning experience in Louderbaugh, Nordstedt and several other lesser-used competitors.