Huskers Close Fall Season Strong

The Nebraska women's golf team concluded its 2004 fall season with its best performance of the season to finish fourth at the 18-team Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C., Nov. 1-2.

The Huskers fired a season-low 889 through three rounds, just two strokes shy of the school record 887 set at the Colorado Invitational on Sept. 29, 1997. NU's near-record tournament total was sparked by a season-best 290 in the second round, which was the Huskers' lowest round since the second round of the Ram Fall Classic in 2002. Nebraska added a season-low final round of 292 to close the tournament, climbing from 11th to fourth on the event's final day.

Coach Robin Krapfl was thrilled with the Huskers' performance on the final day of the fall season.

"What a tremendous way to close the fall season," Krapfl said. "I've been saying all along that our team had a ton of potential, and we finally put it together and played some great golf. This should give us some great momentum heading into the spring season."

Ito Leads Charge with School-Record Effort
Merynn Ito's school-record tying second round propelled Nebraska's rise up the leaderboard on the final day of competition at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate on Nov. 2.

Ito unleashed a career-best 68 to tie the Nebraska record set by Amy Roux at the Big Ten/Big 12 "Shootout at the Legends" Challenge in Franklin, Ind., on Oct. 13, 1998, and matched by Elizabeth Bahensky at the NCAA Tournament in Sunriver, Ore., on May 26, 2000.

The senior from Aiea, Hawaii, fired a 34 on the front nine of the second round on Nov. 1, before closing the round with a 34 on the back nine.

Ito opened the tournament with a 74, before closing with a 73 to finish with a career-best three-round total of 215, shattering her previous best of 223 set last year at the Chip-N Club Invitational.

Ito's one-under-par performance for the tournament was good enough for a runner-up finish, her second top-five finish of the fall. She opened the fall season by capturing fourth place at the Chip-N Club Invitational with a 232.

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. She dropped her season stroke average to 75.93 with her scintillating effort in South Carolina. Through 14 rounds, Ito's average leads the Huskers in 2004-05. Last season, the Aiea, Hawaii, native averaged 77.16 over 32 rounds.

In the Huskers' season-opening win at the Chip-N Club Invitational in Lincoln Sept. 19-20, Ito owns seven top-10 efforts and 14 top-15 tournament finishes in her NU career.

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.

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 closed the fall with a career-best effort at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate Nov. 1-2. McArdle fired a career-best one-under-par 71 in the final round to go along with a pair of 75s to finish in a tie for 10th place with a 221. McArdle's three-round total matched her previous career-best, which also came in NU's final fall tournament a season ago at the adidas Fall Classic. She produced her previous career-best 72 in that tournament.

McArdle finished in the top 30 in all five of the Huskers' fall tournaments, including an eighth-place finish at the Chip-N Club Invitational, a 10th-place showing at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate and a team-best 19th-place effort at the Lady Razorback Invitational.

With her career-best performance in South Carolina, McArdle shaved her season stroke average to 76.93, which is nearly three strokes better than the 79.60 stroke average she produced over 25 rounds in her true freshman campaign.

Freshmen Play Major Roles in Fall Campaign
A pair of freshmen were major contributors during the Huskers' successful fall campaign.

Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart made a splash in her first collegiate event by finishing third with a 229 at the Chip-N Club Invitational. Stewart maintained her spot in the Husker lineup throughout the fall season, finishing with a 78.64 stroke average to rank fourth on the team.

True freshman Elli Brown has also performed well in her first collegiate season. The Meridian, Idaho, native took fifth at the Chip-N Club Invitational with a 235, and closed the fall with a career-best 234 at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate. Brown's career-best effort in South Carolina included a career-low 73 in the second round, which featured a 34 on the back nine.

Brown closed the fall campaign with a 79.64 stroke average through 11 rounds to rank sixth on the team.

Huskers Lineup Featured Fall Changes
Nebraska's fall lineup made news every tournament. The Huskers used a different starting five for all five fall events. Only Merynn Ito, Chrissie McArdle and Allison Stewart played all 14 possible fall rounds for the Huskers, and only Ito and Stewart earned spots in NU's top five in all five events.

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."