Huskers Open Fall Season in Arkansas

Lincoln -- The Nebraska women's golf team opens its 2003 fall season by traveling to the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark., for the Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational Sunday, Sept. 7, through Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The nine-team tournament, which includes the hosts from the University of Arkansas, Augusta State, Iowa State, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oral Roberts, Southern Miss, Texas A&M and Wichita State, should provide plenty of challenges on the 6,102-yard course.

"For a first tournament of the year, it is going to be very competitive, and it is going to give us a good indication of where we are at right now as a team," Coach Robin Krapfl said. "We are going down there to win the thing, and based on our level of play in qualifying this fall, we should definitely be in the mix."

The Nebraska lineup at the three-day, 54-hole tournament is expected to feature plenty of familiar names and a few new faces.

Krapfl's Huskers return seven letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships. Nebraska lost just one letterwinner from last year's squad, but that one golfer will be tough for the Huskers to replace. Sarah Sasse ended a brilliant career for the Huskers in May by earning Nebraska's first-ever first-team All-America award in women's golf. She was also the 2003 Big 12 Golfer of the Year, and closed her career last season as the most decorated golfer in school history.

Despite the loss of Sasse, Krapfl is confident that the 2003-04 version of the Huskers has the potential to be an even better squad than last year's group.

"I think this might be the deepest team we have had in my time at Nebraska," Krapfl said. "I think all of our players have the ability to put up some low scores for us and potentially make us a better team than a year ago."

Krapfl's confidence was reinforced by four strong rounds of qualifying by the Huskers this fall, led by senior captain Stephanie Schaefer (Columbus, Neb.).

"Stephanie Schaefer beat Sarah Sasse's qualifying score from last fall by seven shots," Krapfl said. "We were an average of five shots lower per player in qualifying this year than we were last year, which is very encouraging."

Experienced Huskers Hope to Improve in 2003-04
Senior captain Stephanie Schaefer will lead the charge for the Huskers at the Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational. Schaefer produced an 80.28 stroke average last season, but produced the top scores for Nebraska during four rounds of fall qualifying. Schaefer notched a trio of top 25 performances last season, including a tie for 25th at the Big 12 Championships.

Junior Merynn Ito (Aiea, Hawaii) qualified in the No.4 spot this fall, but was a solid No. 2 player for the Huskers throughout last season. Ito boasts Nebraska's top returning stroke average (77.64) from last season, when she finished among the top 20 individuals in seven tournaments.

Along with Schaefer and Ito, three other of Nebraska's top six golfers also return from last season, including junior Stephanie Ruiz (Edmond, Okla.). Ruiz was a solid No. 3 player for the Huskers last season, posting a 79.28 stroke average while adding a pair of top 25 individual finishes. Ruiz was also NU's No. 2 finisher at the 2003 NCAA Championships, where she finished in a tie for 88th place, trailing only Sasse's 40th-place finish.

Junior Beth Anne Cherry (Lincoln, Neb.) and sophomore Jackie Beste (Sauke Center, Minn.) split time at the No. 5 spot for the Huskers last season. Beste's stroke average of 82.39 over 23 rounds was slightly better than Cherry's 84.09 average over 33 rounds. However, Cherry helped the Huskers qualify for the NCAA Championships by tying for 81st at the 21-team NCAA Central Regional, before adding a 126th-place finish at the 24-team NCAA Championships.

Beste represented the Huskers at the Big 12 Championships and helped NU to a fifth-place team finish with her 41st-place individual showing. She has turned her level of play up a notch this fall, capturing the No. 2 spot in the lineup during fall qualifying.

Sophomores Chelsea Gehring (Aberdeen, S.D.) and Julie Harder (Holland, Ohio) round out the list of seven returning letterwinners for the Huskers. Gehring and Harder both played three rounds of golf for NU last season at the Chip-N Club Invitational. Harder posted an 84.67 stroke average, while Gehring averaged an 86.67.

Freshmen Make Strong Bids for Lineup Spots
Freshman Christine McArdle made an immediate impact on the Nebraska lineup during four rounds of qualifying this fall. McArdle claimed the No. 3 spot in the NU lineup heading into the season-opening Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational this weekend. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native used a strong final round to push ahead of last season's No. 2 golfer, junior Merynn Ito.

McArdle wasn't the only freshman to make a splash this fall. Redshirt freshman Andrea Dunagan from Grand Island slid into the No. 5 spot in the lineup with four strong rounds of qualifying. Dunagan earned a spot in the lineup ahead of returning starters, Beth Anne Cherry and Stephanie Ruiz. Cherry and Ruiz will both be making the trip to Arkansas as individuals this weekend.

A third Husker freshman, Allison Stewart, narrowly missed a lineup spot. Stewart sat in the No. 2 spot overall through the first three rounds of fall qualifying play, but a rough fourth round knocked her off the travel roster.

"The competition from top to bottom during qualifying was really intense," Coach Robin Krapfl said. "To be able to shoot those kind of numbers under such pressure says a lot about the makeup of our whole team and our freshmen."

Scouting the Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational
The University of Arkansas plays host to the sixth annual Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational. The Pinnacle Country Club course, which is located in Rogers, Ark., approximately 20 minutes north of Fayetteville, was designed by Don Sechrest and Bruce Lietzke in 1990. The signature hole of the 6,102-yard course is No. 15, which requires a golfer's most accurate mid-iron as the 160-yard downhill shot must carry to an island green.

Along with their homecourse advantage, the Lady Razorbacks also return all five starters from a team that finished in a tie for 15th place at the 2003 NCAA Central Regional at Firethorn Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. Sophomore Courtney Mahon led Coach Kelley Hester's squad at the Central Regional by tying for 24th with a three-round score of 231. Senior Melissa Murray and sophomore Amanda McCurdy also carded top-50 scores at the regional last season.

Arkansas is not the only 2003 Central Regional qualifier joining the Huskers at the Embasy Suites/Tyson Invitational. Big 12 Conference rival Texas A&M finished ninth at last year's regional in Lincoln, and the Aggies also return their top five golfers from the 2002-03 squad. Junior Nicole Melton, who finished eighth at the Central Regional and 18th at the Big 12 Championships, leads the way for the Aggies.

Mississippi qualified for the NCAA East Regional a year ago and finished in 19th place in the Lady Rebels' first postseason appearance under Coach Meghan Bolger. Ole Miss returns three of their top five golfers, including sophomore Laura Evans, who finished in a tie for 22nd in last year's regional.

Oral Roberts rounds out the list of NCAA Regional qualifiers in the tournament. The Golden Eagles finished 20th in the West Regional in 2003. ORU will be led by the return of 2003 Mid-Continent Conference Player-of-the-Year Candice Satow.

Another familiar foe to the Huskers in Arkansas will be Iowa State, which finished ninth as a team at the Big 12 Championships a year ago. The Cyclones will be led by junior Louise Kenney, who finished in a tie for 47th as an individual at the NCAA Central Regional in Lincoln.