Huskers Aim for Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite Title

Lincoln -- The Nebraska women's golf team will try to get back to its winning ways when the Huskers travel to the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Manhattan, Kan., Oct. 13-14.

The 12-team tournament field features six teams the Huskers have faced this fall, including Creighton, Wichita State, Iowa, North Texas, Illinois State and the hosts from Kansas State. The five other teams will be first-time foes for the Huskers this fall, including Kansas, SMU, Michigan, Arkansas-Little Rock and UMKC.

The strong field will take aim at a 6,151-yard, par 72 layout on the Colbert Hills Golf Course.

Nebraska will be making its first appearance at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational since 1996, when the Huskers finished second in a 14-team field.

Nebraska is coming off a ninth-place finish at the Shootout at the Legends in Franklin, Ind., Oct. 6-7. Senior captain Stephanie Schaefer led the Huskers in Indiana with her fourth consecutive top-20 finish. Schaefer, who managed just one top-20 finish all of last season, shot a season-low three-round score of 223.

The Huskers' showing in Indiana ended Nebraska's hopes of a third consecutive team title. NU claimed back-to-back titles at the Chip-N Club Invitational (Sept. 15-16) and the Ron Moore Highlands Ranch Intercollegiate (Sept. 29-30).

The Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational will be Nebraska's fifth fall tournament. NU will close fall competition at the adidas Fall Classic (Oct. 19-21).

Nebraska's Probable Lineup at a Glance
Nebraska will try to rebound from its ninth-place finish at the Shootout at the Legends (Oct. 6-7), when the Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kan., for the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational, Oct. 13-14.

The Huskers' five-player lineup at the 54-hole tournament will by led by senior captain Stephanie Schaefer (Columbus, Neb.). Schaefer has had a strong fall as the only Husker to finish in the top 20 in all four of Nebraska's fall tournaments. She also owns a pair of top 10 finishes and is tied for the team lead with a 75.91 stroke average through 11 rounds. Schaefer's top individual effort of the year came with her third-place performance at the Chip-N Club Invitational, while her low three-round total of the year came last week at the Shootout at the Legends with a 223. Schaefer also fired the Huskers' lowest round of the fall with her 69 in the second-round at the Chip-N Club.

Sophomore Jackie Beste (Sauke Center, Minn.) has been Nebraska's most consistent scorer and most improved golfer through four tournaments. Beste has finished in the top 20 at three of Nebraska's four tournaments, highlighted by her fifth-place performance at the Chip-N Club Invitational. She shot a season-low 74 in the first round of the Shootout at the Legends, on her way to producing her season-best three-round score of 227. Beste added a round of 75 at the Chip-N Club Invitational, along with two rounds of 76, four rounds of 77, two rounds of 78 and one 79 this fall. Beste's 76.73 stroke average ranks third on the squad and is nearly six strokes better than her 2002-03 season average (82.39).

Junior Merynn Ito (Aiea, Hawaii) has added a trio of top-20 finishes, including a pair of top-five finishes for the Huskers during the fall. Ito took runner-up honors at the Chip-N Club Invitational before adding a tie for fourth at the Ron Moore Highlands Ranch Intercollegiate. Ito has matched Schaefer for a team-leading stroke average of 75.91 through 11 rounds and has finished in the top 20 in three of NU's four tournaments this fall.

Junior Stephanie Ruiz (Edmond, Okla.) produced a breakout performance with a runner-up finish at the Ron Moore Highlands Ranch Intercollegiate (Sept. 29-30). Ruiz shot an even-par 72 in the second round for the second-lowest round of her career. Her final round vaulted her 12 spots in the standings and fueled the Huskers' final-round comeback to claim the team title. Ruiz is coming off a season-low three-round performance of 230 at the Shootout at the Legends (Oct. 6-7).

Rounding out the Huskers' top five will be junior Sara Sackett (Cambridge, Neb.), who owns a pair of top 15 finishes, including a tie for 10th at the Chip-N Club Invitational and a tie for 12th at the Ron Moore Highlands Ranch Intercollegiate. Sackett will be making her third appearance in Nebraska's starting lineup, and her 78.73 stroke average ranks fifth on the team.

The Huskers will also be taking a pair of individuals to Kansas, with junior Beth Anne Cherry (Lincoln, Neb.) and true freshman Christine McArdle (Eden Prairie, Minn.) each playing in their third tournaments of the fall.

McArdle, who finished in a tie for 13th with Ito and Beste at the Embassy Suites/Tyson Invitational (Sept. 7-9), was knocked out of the lineup by a neck injury earlier this fall. Her 79.20 stroke average over five rounds ranks sixth on the squad.

Cherry ranks 10th on the team with an 84.83 stroke average after ranking among the Huskers' top six golfers last season. Cherry represented the Huskers at the NCAA Central Regional and the NCAA Championships last season.

Nebraska Finishes Ninth in Shootout at the Legends
Nebraska settled for a final-round 308 to finish in ninth place at the 18-team Shootout at the Legends in Franklin, Ind., Oct. 6-7.

The Huskers, who entered the final day in seventh place, finished with a three-round total of 908 after shooting an opening-round 302 and a second-round 298 on Monday. Kent State captured the team title by firing an 877 over the 54-hole event at the Legends of Indiana Golf Club. Indiana took runner-up honors, just two strokes off the pace at 879 on the 6,207-yard, par 72 layout.

Senior captain Stephanie Schaefer provided a bright spot for the Huskers by firing a final-round 75 with birdies on each of her final two holes to finish in a tie for 20th. It was Schaefer's fourth consecutive top 20 finish of the fall. The Columbus, Neb., native closed the tournament at 223, 10 strokes behind Indiana's Karen Dennison, who captured the individual crown with a three-under par 213.

Sophomore Jackie Best continued her solid play by finishing in a tie for 31st (74-76-77-227), while junior Merynn Ito settled for a tie for 38th (76-74-79-229). Junior Stephanie Ruiz managed a tie for 42nd (76-77-77-230), while junior Sara Sackett rounded out the Husker lineup by finishing in a tie for 64th (76-81-79-236).

Huskers Showing Major Improvements in 2003-04
Nebraska returns seven letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships. NU lost just one letterwinner, 2003 Big 12 Golfer-of-the-Year Sarah Sasse, who ended a brilliant career in May by earning Nebraska's first-ever first-team All-America award in women's golf.

Despite the loss of Sasse, the Huskers are proving that they expect to be even better in 2003-04. Last season, Nebraska produced a team stroke average of 310.18 over 39 rounds. Through 11 rounds this fall, the Huskers have cut more than six strokes off that average with a 304.10 average in their first four tournaments.

Sophomore Jackie Beste has made the biggest jump of any Husker, knocking nearly six strokes off her 2002-03 average (82.39). Beste ranks third on the team with a 76.73 stroke average this fall and owns three top 15 finishes.

Senior captain Stephanie Schaefer (75.91) has shaved more than four strokes off her 2002-03 season stroke average (80.28). Schaefer is the only Husker this fall to place in the top 20 in all four of Nebraska's tournaments. Last season, Schaefer placed in the top 20 of just one tournament all season.

Junior Merynn Ito, who has matched Schaefer for NU's top stroke average this season (75.91), has trimmed nearly two strokes off her 2002-03 final average (77.64). Ito finished among the top 20 individuals in seven tournaments last season and has added three top 20 finishes this fall.

Junior Stephanie Ruiz posted a 79.28 stroke average and a pair of top 25 finishes last season, and has sliced more than one stroke off her 2003-04 average (78.00) and captured a pair of top 10 finishes this fall. Ruiz was NU's No. 2 finisher (88th overall) at the 2003 NCAA Championships.