Kelli Ann Strand fired back-to-back rounds of 67 to close the first day of the Florida State Match Up at 10-under-par 134 to lead the Nebraska women's golf team on Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Strand finished the first 36 holes in second place, trailing only Duke's Katie Li who produced back-to-back rounds of 66 to head to Saturday's final round at 132 (-12). Strand is two shots in front of Baylor's Rosie Belsham, who sits in third at 136 (-8).
With Strand leading the way, the Huskers closed the opening day of the 54-hole tournament in a tie for fifth in the 14-team field at even-par 576 after rounds of 284 and 292. The Huskers are trailing only top-25 teams in No. 19 Duke (-31), the hosts from No. 20 Florida State (-17), No. 25 Georgia (-11) and Baylor (-9). The Huskers are tied with No. 35 Alabama.
Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, began the day with a double-bogey on No. 9, before bouncing back with three birdies over the next five holes to surge to one-under-par. She notched five straight pars before finding her fourth birdie of the round on hole No. 2. After three straight pars, Strand ended the round on fire with three consecutive birdies on No. 6, 7 and 8 to end the round at 67 (-5).
She stayed hot early in the second on the 6,250-yard layout at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club, carding five straight pars, before getting birdies on four of the next six holes to head back to the front nine at four-under-par. She added birdies on No. 3 and No. 7, before ending the day with a bogey on No. 8 for another 67 (-5).
Miu Takahashi also produced a pair of strong rounds for the Huskers on Friday to close the day in a tie for 22nd at even-par 144. The junior from Nasu-Machi, Japan capped her first round 71 (-1) with an eagle on the par-4, 280-yard No. 8.
Senior Lindsey Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) added an outstanding opening-round 70 (-2) that included four birdies against a pair of bogeys. She settled for a second-round 76 to end the day in a tie for 29th at 146 (+2).
Fellow senior Michaela Vavrova (Bojnice, Slovakia) contributed back-to-back rounds of 76 to contribute to Nebraska's team scores in both rounds. Vavrova moves to Friday's second round in a tie for 59th.
Freshman Arden Louchheim rounded out the Husker contingent with rounds of 76 and 79 to tie for 66th at 155 in the 78-player field.
The Florida State Match Up will conclude with the final round on Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available on Huskers.com from GolfStat.
Florida State Match Up
March 15-16, 2024
Tallahassee, Florida
Seminole Legacy Golf Club (Par 72, 6,250 Yards)
Team Standings (Two Rounds)
1. Duke (19) - 281-264=545 (-31)
2. Florida State (20) - 278-281=559 (-17)
3. Georgia (25) - 282-283=565 (-11)
4. Baylor (56) - 284-283=567 (-9)
T5. Alabama (35) - 289-287=576 (E)
T5. Nebraska (69) - 284-292=576 (E)
7. SMU (23) - 293-285=578 (+2)
8. Ohio State (39) - 291-290=581 (+5)
9. Indiana (73) - 286-297=583 (+7)
T10. Kansas (37) - 298-292=590 (+14)
T10. Campbell (91) - 298-304=602 (+26)
12. Delaware (100) - 307-300=607 (+31)
13. Coastal Carolina (91) - 308-300=608 (+32)
14. Dayton State - 306-305=611 (+35)
Individual Standings (Two Rounds)
1. Katie Li, Duke - 66-66=132 (-12)
2. Kelli Ann Strand, Nebraska - 67-67=134 (-10)
3. Rosie Belsham, Baylor - 70-66=136 (-8)
T4. Mackenzie Lee, SMU - 69-68=137 (-7)
T4. Andie Smith, Duke - 72-65=137 (-7)
T6. Lottie Woad, Florida State - 70-68=138 (-6)
T6. Sera Hasegawa, Baylor - 71-67=138 (-6)
T6. Anne Chen, Duke - 73-65=138 (-6)
T6. Emily Odwin, SMU - 71-67=138 (-6)
T10. Napat Lertsadwattana, Georgia - 69-70=139 (-5)
T10. Alice Hodge, Florida State - 66-73=139 (-5)
Nebraska Individuals
T2. Kelli Ann Strand - 67-67=134 (-1)
T22. Miu Takahashi - 71-73=144 (E)
T29. Lindsey Thiele - 70-76=146 (+2)
T59. Michaela Vavrova - 76-76=152 (+8)
T67. Arden Louchheim - 76-79=155 (+11)