Michaela Vavrova shot a solid 74 in the opening round to lead Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Women's Golf Championship in Havre de Grace, Md., on Friday.
Vavrova, a senior from Bojnice, Slovakia, carded a pair of birdies to go with 13 pars, while adding two bogeys and a double-bogey to finish at two-over-par on the 6,314-yard, par-72 layout of the Bulle Rock Golf Course. She enters Saturday's second round tied for 25th among the 84 golfers in the 14-team championship field.
Arden Louchheim contributed Nebraska's second-best score in the six-count-four format with a 75 (+3). The freshman from Park City, Utah opened her first championship appearance five-over through the first three holes and slipped to six-over through seven holes after starting on No. 9. However, Louchheim turned the tide starting with a birdie on No. 17 before closing the back with a par. She added two more pars on No. 1 and No. 2 before getting birdies on No. 3 and No. 5. She closed out her round with four straight pars. Louchheim sits in a tie for 33rd entering the second round.
Kelli Ann Strand and Miu Takahashi pitched in rounds of 76 to complete Nebraska's 301 (+13) team total on Friday. Strand, who missed Nebraska's final regular-season tournament with an injury, opened on No. 10 and completed the back nine at one-over-par, before playing the front at three-over.
Takahashi started three-over on the back nine, before recording pars on eight of the nine holes on the front nine. She finished with 14 pars and four bogeys on the day to join Strand in a tie for 44th at the end of the round.
Lindsey Thiele (80) and Lena Hassert (81) rounded out Nebraska's first-round individual scores. Thiele is tied for 71st, while Hassert is tied for 74th.
Michigan State posted the best team round of the day with a 279 (-9), led by a 67 (-5) from Paula Balanzategui, who enters the second round in a tie atop the individual leader board with Northwestern's Lauryn Nguyen. The Wildcats (287) sit eight shots behind the Spartans, while Michigan and Indiana are tied for third at even-par 288.
The second round of the Big Ten Championship is scheduled to begin with tee times off No. 1 (7:30 a.m. CT) and No. 10 (8:09 a.m. CT) on Saturday. Live scoring will be available on Huskers.com from GolfStat.
Big Ten Championship
April 19-21, 2024
Havre de Grace, Maryland
Bulle Rock Golf Course (Par 72, 6,314 Yards)
Team Standings (First Round)
1. Michigan State - 279 (-9)
2. Northwestern - 287 (-1)
T3. Michigan - 288 (E)
T3. Indiana - 288 (E)
5. Purdue - 292 (+4)
6. Wisconsin - 295 (+7)
T7. Maryland - 298 (+10)
T7. Ohio State - 298 (+10)
9. Iowa - 300 (+12)
T10. Minnesota - 301 (+13)
T10. Nebraska - 301 (+13)
T10. Illinois - 301 (+13)
13. Rutgers - 305 (+17)
14. Penn State - 310 (+22)
Individual Standings (First Round)
T1. Lauryn Nguyen, Northwestern - 67 (-5)
T1. Paula Balanzategui, Michigan State - 67 (-5)
3. Caroline Craig, Indiana - 69 (-3)
T4. Isabel Sy, Illinois - 70 (-2)
T4. Katie Lu, Michigan State - 70 (-2)
T6. Momo Sugiyama, Purdue - 71 (-1)
T6. Nicha Kanpai, Maryland - 71 (-1)
T6. Hailey Borja, Michigan - 71 (-1)
T6. Leila Raines, Michigan State - 71 (-1)
T6. Valentina Rossi, Michigan State - 71 (-1)
T6. Alexia Siehl, Wisconsin - 71 (-1)
T6. Mara Janess, Michigan - 71 (-1)
Nebraska Individuals
T25. Michaela Vavrova - 74 (+2)
T33. Arden Louchheim - 75 (+3)
T44. Kelli Ann Strand - 76 (+4)
T44. Miu Takahashi - 76 (+4)
T71. Lindsey Thiele - 80 (+8)
T74. Lena Hassert - 81 (+9)