NU Golfers Defeated In Sudden Death Playoff At Louisiana Classic

Team Scoring | Top Finishers| NU Golfers

Lafayette, La.--After tying ninth-ranked Florida for first with a team score of 869, the No. 16 Nebraska men's golf team was defeated by the Gators in a sudden-death team playoff Tuesday afternoon at the 14th annual Louisiana Classics Tournament.

In the first such playoff in the tournament's history, each team recorded four pars on the first extra hole, but birdies by Florida's Steve Scott and Camilo Benedetti on the par-four second hole gave Florida its third straight tournament title this spring and its third Classics title overall. For the second consecutive season, Nebraska finished second at the tournament. After finishing one stroke out of first place at the UTSA Invitational two weeks ago, the Huskers have been just a stroke away from claiming two consecutive team championships.

The two teams had tied for first with a team score of 869, five over par, after entering the final round with Florida in second and Nebraska in third.

With the help of senior Lincoln native Steve Friesen, who finished in a tie for fifth at one-under par 215 (71-73-71), the Huskers posted a six-over 294 team score in Tuesday's final round at the 7,002-yard, par 72 Oakbourne Country Club to pick up three strokes on Florida, who finished the day with a 297. Friesen's fifth-place finish was his second top five finish in as many competitions in the young spring season.

Two other Huskers, Scott Gutschewski and Jamie Rogers, also notched top 10 finishes. Gutschewski earned a season-high seventh-place finish by firing an even-par 216 on three consistent rounds of 72. Rogers, who was tied for second after 36 holes, struggled Tuesday to a season-high 78, but still tied for ninth with a one-over-par 217.

Senior Ryan Nietfeldt tied for 30th with a 224 (74-75-75) and senior Josh Madden tied for 49th with a 229 (79-74-76).

Arkansas' Rich Morris and Tulsa's Martin Maritz split individual medalist honors with five-under-par scores of 211. Texas A&M's Ryan Palmer finished third with a 212 and Florida's Taylor Walsh was fourth at 214. First-day leader Orn Hjartarson of Southwestern Lousiana, who had turned in the lowest round in Louisiana Classics history in Monday's opening round with a six-under-par 66, finished with a 77 on Tuesday to tie for fifth.

In the team standings, Southwestern Louisiana challenged the Gators and the Huskers, finishing third with a 873. Tulsa (881) and Arkansas (886) rounded out the top five.

Nebraska's third competition of the spring -- the Birkdale Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. -- is slated for March 13-14.

Team Scores

1.*	#9 Florida	288-284-297--869
2.	#16 Nebraska	286-289-294--869
3.	Southwestern Louisiana	283-287-303--873
4.	Tulsa	293-290-298--881
5.	Arkansas	296-300-290--886
6.	Sam Houston State	297-291-299--887
7.	Rice	289-300-303--892
	#19 Oklahoma	293-306-293--892
9.	Colorado	302-299-292--893
10.	Texas A&M	294-301-301--896
11.	Baylor	300-307-296--903
12.	Kansas	295-306-309--910
13.	North Texas	300-302-312--914
14.	Kansas State	300-310-310--920
	Missouri	311-300-309--920
*winner in sudden-death playoff

Individual Finishers

1.	Rich Morris, Arkansas	71-69-71--211 -5
	Martin Maritz, Tulsa	72-68-71--211 -5
3.	Ryan Palmer, Texas A&M	71-72-69--212 -4
4.	Taylor Walsh, Florida	71-69-74--214 -2
5.	Steve Friesen, Nebraska	71-73-71--215 -1
	Orn Hjartarson, Southwestern La.	66-72-77--215 -1
7.	Scott Gutschewski, Nebraska	72-72-72--216 E
	Kurt Ekjord, Colorado	73-75-68--216 E
9.	Jamie Rogers, Nebraska	69-70-78--217 +1
	Nick Gilliam, Florida	71-74-72--217 +1

Husker Finishers

T27.	Ryan Nietfeldt	74-75--149 +5
T51.	Josh Madden	79-74--153 +9