To paraphrase a line from the introduction to “Star Trek”, the Buffs are going where no University of Colorado women’s golf team has gone before.

Eighteen years after women’s golf debuted at CU, the Buffs qualified for the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time on Saturday. And, appropriately, they did it on their home course — and with one of the best team scores in program history despite final-round temperatures in the 40s.

CU matched the low score of the tournament at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie and vaulted from ninth place to finish fourth in the NCAA West Regional. And with the top eight teams advancing to nationals — May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn. — the Buffs easily survived by matching their pre-tournament seeding (fourth).

CU’s 9-under-par 279 team score on Saturday was the second-best single-round total in program history. And for the first time ever, the Buffs had to throw out an under-par round in the “best four scores out of five” college scoring format. CU’s five scores were a 68 (Emily Talley, pictured above while celebrating on Saturday), a 69 (Jennifer Coleman) and three 71s (Alex Stewart, Jessica Wallace and Kristin Coleman).

“It’s the best collective effort I’ve ever seen out of the team, especially with the pressure we were under,” said Wallace (pictured below), who went to nationals twice at Pepperdine before transferring to CU. “Everyone was capable of doing this, but we all came up and did it together when it mattered most. It shows what we’re really made of.”

Indeed, after being outside of the qualification line after two days, the Buffs had to step it up to keep their season from ending. And with an eagle (a 115-yard hole-out by Jennifer Coleman) and 20 birdies among its five players, CU did that in a big way.

“To have a high score of 71 that we had to throw out, that’s just insanely good,” said Jennifer Coleman, who led Colorado for the week by placing 10th individually.

The Buffs finished with a three-round total of 877, which left them four strokes behind co-champions LSU and UCLA, the defending national champ. Pepperdine, led by Coloradan Somin Lee, placed third at 875 after matching CU’s final-round 279.

Meanwhile, the seasons ended for the University of Denver (19th place, 915) and the University of Northern Colorado (23rd place, 941).

Lee, the CWGA Player of the Year in 2011, posted the best individual score on Saturday (a 5-under-par 67) and tied for sixth individually at even-par 216. Lee will be going to nationals as a freshman.

“It feels really good,” she said. “I’m really proud of my team. We played great today. I’m so happy right now. It’s really good to go to nationals as a freshman. It will be a good experience.”

Catherine O’Donnell of North Carolina maintained her second-round lead to claim the individual title on Saturday. She shot a 2-under-par 70 for a 7-under 209 total and a one-stroke victory.

But the day belonged to the host Buffs as a crowd of nearly 100 greeted them as they completed their rounds. It was a big moment for everyone on the team, but no one more than 15th-year head coach Anne Kelly, who finally gets to take a team to women’s college golf’s biggest tournament.

“I can’t really express how happy and proud I am of these girls,” she said. “They’ve worked so hard. It’s been such a long process but it’s neat to see it come together finally.”

And what better way to make the dream come true than on CU’s home course — and with a score that won’t soon be forgotten.

The Buffs’ 279 total Saturday was 18 strokes better than either of their previous two rounds. They especially made hay on the par-5s on Saturday, finishing a combined 10 under par on the long holes.

CU assistant coach Brent Franklin “and I always wondered what would happen if all five of (the players) come together at once — and this was it,” Kelly said. “It was good timing.”

But things didn’t look so great on Friday night. The Buffs were on the wrong side of the qualifying line, and their top player, Stewart, had withdrawn from the second round after 15 holes due to dehydration and a sinus infection. Stewart estimates she drank a couple of gallons of liquid on Friday night, but it was no sure thing that she would play on Saturday.

Stewart felt better — though not 100 percent — on Saturday morning, and definitely wanted to give it a go.

“I was just going to try my best to play even if I wasn’t feeling well,” said Stewart, who responded with three birdies and two bogeys on Saturday. As a team, “we were a little fired up to go get them today.”

Kelly gave the Buffs a “10 second” pre-round speech, simply telling her team “it’s OK to be nervous but you can’t be scared.”

Everyone knew the stakes involved, but no one more so than Talley, a senior and four-year standout who has never gotten to nationals.

“I was thinking about it on the third hole,” she said. “This could possibly be my last round of college golf. I thought, ‘That’s not going to happen. I don’t want it to happen.'”

And Talley helped make sure it didn’t happen. She was 5 under par through 13 holes, but made two bogeys and a birdie down the stretch to settle for a 68. A day after bogeying all four of the par-5s at Colorado National, she played them in 3 under par on Saturday.

CHIP SHOTS: Colorado State senior Brianna Espinoza ended her college career with a 34th-place finish. She closed with a 1-over-par 73, good for a 6-over 222 total. … New Mexico junior Beth Buchner, a former Colorado state high school champion, finished in 109th place at 21-over-par 237. … Baylor, Stanford, North Carolina and Oklahoma joined UCLA, LSU, Pepperdine and Colorado in earning the national team berths. … Qualifying for the NCAA finals as individuals were Kimberly Kaufman (eighth place) and Gabriella Dominguez (14th place), both from Texas Tech. … The team that was tied with CU for ninth place entering Saturday, Illinois, finished 14th, 10 spots behind the Buffs.

NCAA West Regional
At Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie

4. Colorado 297-301-279–877
10. Jennifer Coleman 77-72-69–218; 16. Emily Talley 76-76-68–220; 16. Kristin Coleman 71-78-71–220; 26. Jessica Wallace 75-75-71–221; 125. Alex Stewart 75-NS-71.

19. Denver 304-311-300–915
41. Kelly Drack 75-77-72–224; 61. Rachael Watton 76-78-74–228; 72. Tonje Daffinrud 76-77-76–229; 98. Sarah Faller 77-79-78–234; 113. Anna Christenson 77-84-80–241.

23. Northern Colorado 311-324-304–939
56. Carleigh Silvers 75-77-74–226; 110. Hannah McNeley 80-83-75–238; 112. Chelsea Silvers 78-79-82–239; 117. Ali Nelson 84-85-73–242; 121. Libby Avery 78-90-85–253.

Other Scores of Local Interest
6. Somin Lee, Pepperdine, 75-74-67–216; 34. Brianna Espinoza, Colorado State, 76-73-73–222; 109. Beth Bucher, New Mexico, 76-81-80–237.

For scores, CLICK HERE.

The head coach and her players are set to embark on the spring portion of their schedule, which begins Sunday at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. And a perfect convergence of events could make it the most memorable semester in the 18 years the CU women’s program has existed.

What’s in store for the Buffs?

First, a 5,700-square-foot indoor practice facility, complete with five heated hitting bays, is tentatively scheduled to open later this month at Colorado National Golf Club, the Buffs’ home course in Erie. The CU women will share the George Boedecker Jr. Golf Practice Facility with the Buff men.

Second, the CU women will be the host team when an NCAA Championship tournament is played in Colorado for the first time ever. The women’s NCAA West Regional is scheduled for May 10-12 at Colorado National.

Third, in a matter of ideal timing for the Buffs, Kelly believes she has the best team in the history of the CU women’s program. After a fall schedule in which the Buffs posted one team victory, they’re ranked 20th in the nation by Golfweek, 23rd by Golfstat and 24th by the coaches.

“It’s a very exciting semester,” said Kelly, CU’s women’s head coach since 1997. “To see this all come true — getting the golf course a couple of years ago, the (practice) facility about to be completed, and hosting this big tournament — it’s great for CU golf, but it’s also great for women’s golf in general.”

If ever there was a semester where the Buffs can make inroads nationally, it’s this one. They have two seniors (Emily Talley, pictured, and Jessica Wallace) who were first-team All-Big 12 Conference players last season. And sophomore Alex Stewart, a transfer from Purdue, is currently the No. 7-ranked women’s amateur in the world, according to Golfweek/amateurgolf.com.

Last month, Stewart was a contender in two prestigious women’s amateur tournaments in Florida, finishing fourth in the South Atlantic Amateur and making it to the match play semifinals of the Jones/Doherty Women’s Amateur. Last year, Stewart was runner-up in the Women’s Trans National.

“Quite honestly, this is probably the best team that’s been here (at CU) so far,” Kelly said. “They’re committed to the team and to their games. They’d like nothing more than to see the team go as far as it can. To have players like that is pretty nice. All of them are excited to play an (NCAA) regional at our home course.”

In addition to Wallace, Talley and Stewart, the Coleman twins — sophomores Jenny and Kristin — make up CU’s normal travel squad.

Twenty-four teams will qualify for the women’s NCAA West Regional, one of three regional tournaments overall. If other Colorado-based teams earn regional berths, they’ll also play at Colorado National in May. Given how highly it’s ranked, CU shouldn’t have a problem earning a regional berth. But the Buffs have bigger things in mind, namely gaining a spot in the NCAA Finals.

The Buffs have qualified for NCAA regionals twice, but have never made it to the Finals.

“Our goal is not to make it to regionals, but to make it to the Championship (finals),” Kelly said. “We definitely have talented players that are capable of that.”

While CU has high expectations given the significant stakes this semester, Kelly has been careful to keep things on an even keel for her team.

“Any extra pressure in golf is not beneficial,” she said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing and play the way we’re capable, I think we’ll be fine.

“I have high hopes and I know what kind of players they are. We have depth and are committed. But golf is such a fickle game. You don’t want to get ahead of yourself. You play your best golf when you stay in the present.”

This will be the second consecutive May that Colorado National has hosted an NCAA regional. Last year, a men’s regional was held there, though the host CU men’s team didn’t qualify. Colorado State not only made it in, but advanced to the NCAA Finals.