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With its most experienced player redshirting and a brand new coach, the 2001-02 season looked to be a year for gaining experience on the links. On the contrary, it was one of record breaking and claiming titles.
The squad clenched its first title in three years and watched several players record personal bests on the courses.
The Huskers began the year by hosting the Fairway Club Invitational in Lincoln at the Firethorn Golf Club on Sept. 10-11. Over the course of the two-day event, the squad posted scores of 297, 296 and 304 for a total of 897 to finish sixth. Lamar University took home the championship with a three-round score of 873. Junior Mike Vanier, an individual competitor, led the team carding 72's in the first and second rounds followed by a 74 for a total of 218 to finish in seventh. Junior Jim Troy shot a 70 in the second round of competition to finish in ninth place with a score of 219. Senior Blake Humbles carded a 227 to tie for 28th, while junior J.J. Sullivan, another individual competitor for the Huskers, used a 228 for a 31st place finish. A final 229 placed junior Kevin Bryson in a tie for 33rd, while junior Justin Borzych used a 230 for a 35th-place finish. Sophomore Chris Hartwig and freshman Jonathan Aten, an individual competitor, both tied for 36th wiyth a score of 231 over 54 holes. Senior Andy McCabe also competed individually and finished in a 51st-place tie with a 239.
The Huskers traveled to Brighton, Colo. for the next tournament in the fall campaign. With scores of 302, 298 and 295, the squad notched a tenth-place finish with a total score of 895. Humbles, Sullivan and Troy each carded a 224 over 54 holes to tie for 33rd as the team's top competitors. Two strokes back, Aten recorded a 226 to tie for 40th. Borzych tied for 48th with a 228.
In its next showing, Nebraska charted an 11th-place finish at the Purina Classic with scores of 297, 295 and 299 for a total 891. Troy led the squad once again with a 220 to tie for 28th.
Three Huskers stayed back from the Purina Classic to compete as individuals in the Nebraska Wesleyan-hosted Fall Preview. The 36-hole competition saw Bryson record the top finish thus far in his career with a with a 151 for second place, while Hartwig and Aten finished tied for 21 and 30th respectively.
With Biloxi, Miss. as their next stop, the Huskers traveled to the Cardinal Classic hosted by Lamar. Rounds of 304, 302 and 311 combined for a total score of 917 to place the squad in 12th. Humbles led the squad with a 228 over the two-day tournament to finish in 42nd place, while Troy shot a 233 to tie for 52nd.
In its final stop of the fall campaign, the team finished 16th at the Henry Griffits/Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas. The squad used rounds of 305, 300 and 291 for a total of 896. Humbles took charge of the squad with a tie for 20th. He used second and third-round scores of 69 for a total of 214 to record personal bests.
The squad returned to the links for the spring campaign with the UTSA Invitational in San Antonio, Texas. With rounds of 297, 300 and 330 for a total of 927, the Huskers finished in the middle of the pack in 12th place. Kevin Bryson shot rounds of 74, 74 and 82 to finish in a 31st-place tie. Humbles carded rounds of 75, 78 and 81 to tie for 38th.
At the USD Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. the squad recorded its third top-ten finish of the season with a three-round score of 939 to finish ninth. Junior Jim Troy exhibited impressive play with a 226 over 54 holes to tie for tenth.
Humbles led the Huskers in the Stevinson Ranch Invitational in Stevinson, Calif. He used rounds of 69, 74 and 72 for a final 215 to tie for seventh. A 54-hole total of 905 placed the Huskers in 13th.
The next tournament marked the climax of the season when the squad clenched it first title in three years at the Southwest Missouri State Invitational in Branson, Mo. Using scores of 290, 281 and 295, the team finished with a total of 866 in first place. J.J. Sullivan was the top competitor this time out with a 214 to tie for fourth. Troy tied for tenth with a 217, while Humbles and Bryson tied for 13th and 15th respectively. Chris Hartwig rounded out the squad with a 28th-place tie.
In next competition, Jim Troy led the team to a second-place finish while grabbing the individual title along the way. In the 36-hole Wildcat Invitational, the Huskers carded scores of 310 and 308 for a final mark of 618. Troy knocked nine strokes off of a first-round 80 with a 71 in the second for a total of 151 over 36 holes.
The Drake Relays/Jack D. Wallace Memorial in Des Moines, Iowa marked the final regular season tournament for the Huskers before the Big 12 Championship. Nebraska used rounds of 303, 307 and 295 for a total of 905 to finish fourth. Kevin Bryson fired a 219 for a third-place tie. Andy McCabe, an individual competitor in the tournament, tied for eigth with a 224.
The Big 12 Championship held at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., did not prove to be as success-yielding as the previous bouts for the squad. Rounds of 312, 295 and 302 landed the Huskers in 12th place. Jim Troy was the top finisher for the team with rounds of 76, 71 and 76 to tie for 29th. Five strokes back of Troy, Kevin Bryson finished in a 42nd-place tie.
Despite the finish at the Big 12 Championship, the Huskers hit the links with determination in the 2001-02 season. The record books prove that the Huskers encountered success in their first season under a new coach and are destined for more.