Huskers Close Fall Season in South Carolina

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's golf team closes fall tournament play by traveling to Kiawah Island, S.C., to compete in the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 1-2.

The College of Charleston plays host to the event at the Oak Point Golf Course, with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. central time on Monday.

The 54-hole tournament will consist of 27 holes on Monday and 27 holes on Tuesday, covering the par 72, 6,468-yard layout on the Kiawah Island Resort.

The 19-team tournament field includes: Appalachian State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Cincinnati, The Citadel, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Illinois, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oral Roberts, SMU, Western Carolina and Wisconsin.

Coach Robin Krapfl and the Huskers will carry their fifth different lineup in five fall events to South Carolina. Sophomore Chrissie McArdle takes over the No. 1 spot for the first time this season, while senior Merynn Ito will play in the No. 2 position. Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart will play No. 3, while Sara Sackett rejoins the NU lineup in the No. 4 spot. True freshman Elli Brown will be playing in NU's starting lineup for the third time this season at No. 5.

Huskers Finish Eighth at Lady Razorback
The Huskers climbed the leaderboard on the final two days of competition to take eighth place among 19 teams at the Lady Razorback Invitational in Rogers, Ark., Oct. 17-19.

Nebraska finished the three-day tournament with a score of 935 over 54 holes, trailing the team champions from Iowa State by 30 strokes. Texas A&M finished 11 strokes behind the Cyclones with a 916, while the hosts from Arkansas were 15 shots off the pace at 920.

NU closed the tournament with rounds of 305 and 307, after opening with a 323. The 307 marked Nebraska's lowest final-round score of the season.

Sophomore Chrissie McArdle produced NU's top round on the final day with a three-over par 75. McArdle's strong second and third rounds helped her finish in a tie for 19th place as NU's top finisher. She finished at 232. Senior Merynn Ito tied for 29th with a 235, while redshirt freshman Allison Stewart finished in a tie for 49th at 239. Junior Chelsea Gehring closed in a tie for 58th overall, while true freshman Elli Brown managed a tie for 68th.

McArdle Continues to Improve
Sophomore Chrissie McArdle has been charging up the leaderboards throughout the fall season. After opening the season with an eighth-place effort at the Chip-N Club Invitational with a 239, McArdle has continued to shave strokes off her game.

The Eden Prairie, Minn., native is coming off a team-best tie for 19th at the Lady Razorback Invitational Oct. 17-19 in Rogers, Ark., and will play in the No. 1 spot at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate, Nov. 1-2, in Kiawah Island, S.C.

McArdle has produced sub-80 scores in seven of her last eight rounds, including a trio of 75s to trim her season stroke average to 77.82, which trails only Merynn Ito's 77.09 among the Huskers.

McArdle finished with three-round scores of 232 at the Lady Razorback Invite and the Price's "Give 'Em Five" Invite, which represent two of NU's top-five tournament scores this season.

Last season, McArdle was a regular in NU's lineup as a true freshman, finishing the season with a 79.60 stroke average over 25 rounds, including a career-low 72 at the adidas Fall Classic.

Ito Showing Consistency Again in 2004-05
Senior Merynn Ito will provide leadership to a young and talented group of Huskers in 2004-05. Nebraska's most experienced golfer, Ito entered her final season at NU with 104 collegiate rounds under her belt and a career stroke average of 78.20.

In the Huskers' season-opening win at the Chip-N Club Invitational in Lincoln Sept. 19-20, Ito produced another solid performance with rounds of 79, 74 and 79 to finish with a three-round score of 232. Ito's 16-over-par performance was the sixth top-10 effort and 13th top-15 tournament finish in her NU career. She added solid rounds of 77 and 76 at the Jeannine McHaney Invitational to finish in a tie for 26th at 153 in the rain-shortened event, before tying for 25th (73-79-79-231) at the Price's "Give 'Em Five" Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M., Oct. 4-5. She added a tie for 29th (85-74-76-235) at the Lady Razorback Invitational, Oct. 17-19 in Rogers, Ark.

Through 11 rounds this fall, Ito owns a team-leading 77.09 stroke average. Last season, the Aiea, Hawaii, native averaged 77.16 over 32 rounds. The two-time NGCA Academic All-American tied for 11th at the 2003 Big 12 Championships and tied for 114th at the 2003 NCAA Championships.

Huskers Finish First and Second at Chip-N Club Invite
The Huskers opened the fall with a one-two finish at the Chip-N Club Invitational at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course in Lincoln Sept. 19-20. Nebraska's top unit won the tournament for the second straight year, outdistancing the Huskers' second unit by 20 strokes.

The Nebraska Reds won the tournament with a 54-hole score of 937, while the Whites finished at 957. Southwest Missouri State took third at 965. North Texas finished fourth with a 968, 31 strokes off the pace set by the Huskers.

Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart, playing as NU's No. 4 golfer, finished fourth in the 42-player field with rounds of 75, 73 and 81 to finish 13 strokes over par at 231 despite extremely windy conditions. Stewart finished three strokes ahead of senior Merynn Ito, who took fourth place.

True freshman Elli Brown, who qualified as the No. 5 player in NU's White lineup, had a sensational opening to her career by finishing fifth overall (75-78-82-235). A second NU White team member, junior Chelsea Gehring, added a sixth-place effort (79-73-84-236). Junior Sara Sackett (seventh, 76-79-83-238) and sophomore Chrissie McArdle (eighth, 76-80-83-239) rounded out the top four golfers on the Red team and gave NU six of the top-eight finishers overall in the tournament.

Deep Husker Team Planning Big Things in 2005
The Nebraska women's golf team hits the course this season with one of the deepest teams in school history.

With an experienced lineup built on the rock-solid foundation of eight returning letterwinners, including five golfers who played 25 or more rounds in Nebraska's lineup last season, the Huskers are poised to return to NCAA regional play for the fifth time in the last six years.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl, who is in her 18th season at the controls of the program, said NU's experience will be a major factor in its success.

"We are going to have outstanding depth," Krapfl said. "There is probably not a single player whose spot is secure in the starting lineup. I think we can probably go 10 deep."

The Husker roster features three seniors, three juniors and a pair of sophomores who all gained significant experience in NU's lineup last season. Krapfl said the internal competition for starting spots could also help propel the Huskers to lower scores.

"Our goal is to have our five starters averaging 77 and under," Krapfl said. "Looking up and down the lineup, I think we have eight, nine or even 10 players who can do that. I think it is important for them to set their sights higher. The college game and junior golf are improving at such high rates that we need to make similar jumps in our expectations."

Along with a deep and experienced lineup, the Huskers will feature one of the hardest-working teams in golf. Krapfl said NU's work ethic over the past several seasons gives her plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of Nebraska golf.

"The No. 1 thing we build off of is our work ethic," Krapfl said. "Last year, they were the hardest-working group in school history and that showed again this summer. They had some outstanding summers, and hopefully the momentum will carry into the fall."