Huskers Set to Wrap Up Season at Big 12's

The University of Nebraska men's golf team will wrap up the 1999-2000 season at the 2000 Big 12 Championships this weekend in Hutchison, Kan. The championships will be held at the Prairie Dunes Country Club. The course has a par 70, 6,593-yard layout. The Huskers captured second place at the PDCC at the 1999 Big 12 Championships. The format will be 36 holes on Monday April 24, with the final 18 holes starting on Tuesday morning, April 25.

The Huskers are ranked 10th in the Big 12 coaches poll ahead of Iowa State and Kansas State. The Huskers will tee off at 8:00 a.m.. on Monday with #11 Iowa State and #12 Kansas State during the first round. The 1999-2000 Husker men's golf team began the season in the shadow of the finest men's golf team in school history. The 1998-1999 squad finished second at the 1999 Big 12 Championships, third at the NCAA Central Regional, and 14th at the NCAA Championships. The team returned only one player from last seasons squad, sophomore Seth Porter, who qualified for and finished 82nd overall at the 1999 NCAA Championships. Gone are: Josh Madden, Scott Gutschewski, Ben Hogan Award winner Steve Friesen and perhaps the finest individual men's golfer in school history, 1999 All-American Jamie Rogers.

If the fall season provided for experience, then the spring season provided for growth.

"Our guys learned how to come out, compete and play after a layoff," Romjue said. "They improved, and we will see how much they improved next week at the Big 12 Championships. They have been through the mill, and they now know what it takes to compete at this level." A repeat of 1999's phenomenal success wasn't expected this year, just good solid effort and Romjue saw that effort out of his players daily.

"The players had a lot of enthusiasm this year," Romjue said.

They were new to this, and were eager to learn. It is my job to teach them that, and I think that they are learning. I like the way that the future looks for us."

Although young, the team has shown promise this season. Constant improvement and effort has been seen, and their play has improved since day one.

The team started the 1999-2000 season off with their first top-ten finish of the season, grabbing sixth place at the Fairway Club Invitational, which Nebraska hosted at the Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln in September. Freshman J.J. Sullivan carded a three-round total of 220, landing him in a tie for eighth place in his first collegiate tournament. Sullivan's eighth place finish remains a career high. Freshman Rob Arthur fired a 223 to finish tied for 18th overall, while fellow freshman Jim Troy carded a 226 to tie for 25th overall, the first top 25 finish of his career.

Nebraska finished 18th overall at the Ping/Golfweek Preview in Auburn, Ala., in mid-September. The tournament, which Romjue called "the nation's hardest tournament outside of the NCAA's" featured 17 teams that were ranked by Golfweek at the time. Nebraska was led by Porter who fired a 233 to finish tied for 75th.

The Huskers headed next to neighboring Colorado to compete at the Ram Invitational in Fort Carson. The tournament, originally slated for three rounds, was cut to two due to bad weather. Inspite of the conditions, the Huskers were able to finish 12th overall, eight shots ahead of Big 12 rival Iowa State. Once again, Sullivan led the Huskers, carding a 148 to tie for 35th overall.

Two weeks later, the Big Red headed to St. Louis to compete in the Missouri/Purina Bluffs Invitational.

Despite the team's 12th place finish overall, the highlight of the trip was Porter's tie for second place on the individual side. Porter shot a 208, which was just one shot behind Ryan Vermeer of Kansas.

The Huskers then wrapped up the fall schedule with a 17th-place finish at the prestigious Nelson Invitational in Stanford, Calif. Once more, the duo of Porter and Arthur provided the muscle for Nebraska, Arthur fired a 216 (T27th place) and Porter fired a 220 (T47th place). While Porter and Arthur grabbed the top spots for the Huskers, freshman Mike Vanier quietly fired a 66 to lead all Huskers in the second round. Vanier's 66 was also the best low-round score of the season for Nebraska.

As the spring slate of tournaments opened, Romjue scheduled an early season dual with the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas on February 13. The Huskers handily defeated the Broncs, shooting 472. Arthur led all golfers with a 74. Vanier and freshman Andy McCabe fired a 75 and a 77 respectively, while Porter fired a 78.

Freshmen newcomers Marty Smith and Himesh Patel both carded an 84 in their first taste of American golf. Both were new additions to the Husker roster this spring, coming to America from England.

Nebraska continued their Texas trek at the Southwest Classic in Victoria, Texas and the University of Texas-San Antonio Invitational. Arthur landed the first top-10 finish of his career with a sixth place finsh at the Southwest Classic, firing a 220. Sullivan fired a 228 to tie for 39th place at the Southwest Classic.

At the UTSA Invitational, the Huskers shot a team score of 913. Sullivan led the Huskers once again, this time firing a score of 227 to tie for 46th. Smith also shot well, tying for 49th overall and carding a 229.

The next stops on the spring schedule for the Huskers were the Cleveland Golf Collegiate Championships held in Aiken, S.C., and the Louisiana Classic in Lafayette, La.

The Huskers earned a 15th place finish at both tournaments, carding a 931 in Louisiana, and a 907 in South Carolina. Porter led the Big Red in both tournaments, firing a 222 in Louisiana which put him in the top 15 (15th). In South Carolina, Porter and Arthur both landed in a four-way tie for 49th place with a score of 225.

The top finish of the spring came in secluded Stevinson, Calif. Romjue's squad of mostly rookies took fifth place after the first day, and ended in seventh place overall with a score of 919. The Huskers were led by Troy who finished tied for 12th place overall with a 224. Arthur also played well for the Big Red, carding a 229. Arthur also landed his second top-25 finish of the spring season (T24th place), the first coming at the Louisiana Classic.

The final regular season stop on the Husker's spring schedule took them south to neighboring Kansas for the 25th Annual Diet Pepsi/Shocker Classic at Wichita State. There the Huskers recorded their second top-10 finish in a row, and their third of the season. The Huskers finished in sole possession of eighth place with a team score of 908.

Once again, Arthur, Porter and Troy led the Huskers. Arthur fired a 224 to grab a tie for 12th place, while Troy carded a 226 (T20) and Porter shot a 225 (T14).