BAKKEN FINISHES 11TH AS GOPHERS PLACE 9TH AT BIG TEN WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS - Junior Katie Bakken (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Brooklyn Center) recorded a 1- over-par 73 in the final round of the Big Ten women's golf championship in Madison, Wis. Bakken finished the four-round tournament with a total of 298, good for 11th place.

The Golden Gophers placed ninth at 1221, just nine strokes out of fourth place. Minnesota recorded 301 in both the second and fourth rounds, a season-low. Purdue won its first Big Ten team title with a conference record total of 1,167. Michigan State's Emily Bastel set a record in the individual race by finishing with a score of 288.

Sophomore Cindy Cannon (Big Lake, Minn./Monticello) tied for 37th place with a total of 310. Sophomore Megan Stier and first-year golfer Karyn Stordahl (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) were one stroke behind at 311. Newcomer Kirstin Whalen (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) finished at 313, with junior Jenny Bruun (Crookston, Minn./Central) at 340.

Team Scores 1. Purdue 287 289 298 293 1167 2. Michigan St. 305 290 303 296 1194 3. Ohio State 294 298 303 300 1195 4. Wisconsin 302 297 303 310 1212 5. Indiana 304 299 313 298 1214 6. Northwestern 299 302 313 302 1216 Michigan 305 304 308 299 1216 8. Penn State 300 310 308 302 1220 9. Minnesota 305 301 314 301 1221 10. Iowa 329 301 315 317 1262 11. Illinois 311 317 326 310 1264 Individuals 1. Emily Bastel, Michigan State 78 69 71 70 288 2. Stacy Orschell, Purdue 67 74 73 75 289 Kari Damron, Purdue 68 73 76 72 289 4. Katie Futcher, Penn State 72 74 73 72 291 5. Natalie Tucker, Indiana 71 77 75 72 295 Laurin Kanda, Illinois 73 74 76 72 295 Lisa Strom, Ohio State 71 75 75 74 295 Minnesota finishers 11. Katie Bakken 73 72 80 73 298 T37. Cindy Cannon 78 80 77 75 310 T40. Megan Stier 76 77 83 75 311 T40. Karyn Stordahl 79 75 77 80 311 T43. Kirstin Whalen 78 77 80 78 313 62. Jenny Bruun 86 84 81 89 340 BAKKEN LEADS IN THE SPRING SEASON - Junior Katie Bakken led the team during the spring season, as she was Minnesota's top finisher in the five of the six spring tournaments. She won the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational on March 14, finishing with a two-round total of 147, including a 2-under-par 70 in the first round. It was her first career victory. She finished fourth at the Indiana Invitational on April 9. Bakken also placed eighth at the Midwest Classic in Dallas on Feb. 27, placed 11th at the Big Ten Championship and tied for 14th at the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

Bakken led the team with a 77.12 stroke average during the spring season, which ranks fifth in Minnesota history. Including an 80.67 average during the fall season, Bakken averaged 78.59 for the 1999-2000 golf season, the 18th-best season average in school history.