It was a disappointing finish for women’s golf Monday at the 31st Annual Susie Maxwell Berning Classic at chilly Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course, but the Sooners certainly have plenty of positives to take from the tournament.

The good news came on the individual front, where senior Kendall Dye grabbed her second consecutive win in the tournament. Dye used a tournament best 73 (+1) in the final round to snag the overall victory.

Dye said she was happy to finish out her regular season with a win in spite of the elements.

“I really wanted the team to win as well, but we still can’t be upset with a second place finish,” Dye said. “The conditions were tough, but it gave each one of us an experience that we can take with us into the future.

The good news continued on the individual side, as sophomore Ellen Mueller shot a final round 78 (+6) in order to finish as runner-up to Dye.

OU head coach Carol Ludvigson praised the hard work of Dye and Mueller.

“I’m extremely proud of both of them,” Ludvigson said. “It was interesting going into today seeing them encouraging one another and they were both pulling for each other throughout the round.”

Several other Sooners had respectable tournament performances, including freshman Kelly Short, who tied for 17th with a 239 (+23), and freshman Brooke Collins, who’s final round 81 (+9) netted her 24th.

Sophomore Sara Hemingway finished tied for 11th, while competing individually for OU.

The disappointing news came on the team side of things, as OU coughed up a six-shot lead it had on Baylor through two rounds, and fell to the Lady Bears by three strokes overall.

OU now will prepare for the Big 12 Championship, which will be held in Lubbock, Texas, April 24-26.

Ludvigson said the team’s experience in this weekend’s tournament gives them motivation heading into the Big 12 Championship.

“Obviously we’ve struggled with our fourth and fifth place positions, but I think that gives the team fire for the next few weeks to get all scores competitive for the championship,” Ludvigson said.

Oklahoma State figures to be the favorite heading into the tournament. As defending Big 12 champions, the Cowgirls look poised to make another run at this year’s tournament, as they currently sit at No. 4 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin women’s Division I performance ratings. OSU sits behind only Pac 10 powers Arizona State, UCLA, and Southern California in the national ratings.

OSU is also the top-ranked squad in the Big 12 ratings. Colorado, Texas, Texas Tech, and Missouri round out the top five, with OU right behind in the six slot.

This year’s event will mark the second time in which Texas Tech has hosted the Big 12 Championship, the first coming in 2000 at Lubbock Country Club. The Sooners will hope to have a repeat performance of the last championship in Lubbock, which saw the OU women win their only Big 12 title.