Huskers Set For Central District Invitational

The Nebraska women’s golf team will head to Parrish, Fla., for the Central District Invitational hosted by Michigan State at the par-72, 6,099-yard River Wilderness Golf Course, Feb. 20-22.

The Huskers are hoping to improve from their 12th-place finish last season at the Central District Invitational. Coming off a tournament title at the Baja Invitational in Ensenada, Mexico, Coach Robin Krapfl is confident her team will have a strong performance.

"We would like to continue to build on the momentum we gained from our performance in Mexico," Krapfl said. "We will be looking to take it up a notch and eliminate a few errors."

The 14-team field will consist of six Big 12 Conference schools, including Baylor, Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas and Texas Tech.

Ruiz, Huskers Take Title at Baja Invitational
Senior Stephanie Ruiz won the individual title to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to the Baja Invitational team championship in Ensenada, Mexico, Tuesday.

Nebraska fired a three-round total of 928 (309-309-310) to claim the team crown, as Huskers claimed three of the top four individual spots in the seven-team tournament. Overall, seven NU golfers earned spots in the top 20.

The strong effort for the Huskers from top to bottom in the lineup allowed Nebraska to hold off second-place BYU, which finished at 932 (307-312-313).

Ruiz won the individual title by four strokes as well, as the senior from Edmond, Okla., fired a three-round total of 223 with consistent rounds of 75-73-75. Ruiz outperformed BYU’s Rachel Newren, who placed second with 227.

Nebraska sophomore Elli Brown finished third with 231 (73-79-79), while NU junior Chrissie McArdle placed fourth with 234 (78-78-78).

Senior Jackie Beste placed 10th with a 241 (83-79-79), while sophomore Allison Stewart, competing as an individual, finished just one stroke back at 242 (78-78-86).

Senior Chelsea Gehring, who also competed as an individual, tied for 16th place, shooting 248 (83-82-83), and Andrea Dunagan rounded out Nebraska’s top 20 performers in a tie for 19th at 249 (86-78-85). Freshman Megan Place just missed the top 20, placing 21st with 250 (82-84-84). Dunagan and Place both competed as individuals.

Huskers Recognized for Academic Accomplishments
Ten members of the Nebraska women’s golf team were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements by making the fall 2005 Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll.

Seniors Sara Sackett, Jackie Beste and Chelsea Gehring were named along with juniors Chrissie McArdle and Andrea Dunagan, sophomores Elli Brown and Allison Stewart and redshirt freshman Megan Place. Former Huskers Merynn Ito and Beth Anne Bryson were also named to the list.

The Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who earned a 3.0 GPA or higher during the previous semester. Overall, Nebraska had 235 student-athletes named to the fall honor roll, including 35 who produced perfect 4.0 grade-point averages during the fall semester.

The Nebraska women’s golf team earned recognition from the National Golf Coaches Association for its outstanding team grade-point average during the 2004-05 season.

Nebraska was ranked seventh in the country with its overall GPA of 3.566. South Carolina won the NGCA All-Scholar Team GPA Award with its 3.752 cumulative team GPA.

The NGCA’s new award recognizes women’s collegiate golf programs for their academic achievements. The list is made up of the top 25 collective GPAs in the nation.

Last summer, the NGCA recognized four Huskers individually for their outstanding academic performances. Merynn Ito, Jackie Beste, Chelsea Gehring and Allison Stewart earned honors for their cumulative GPA’s of 3.5 or higher. Nebraska leads the nation with 42 all-time NGCA Scholastic All-Americans.

Ruiz Builds Off Fall Momentum
Senior Stephanie Ruiz has exceeded the high expectations set for her coming into the 2005-06 season, shooting 78 or better in 12 of 15 fall rounds, including four rounds under par, and she has already captured a tournament title in the 2006 spring season.

Ruiz set a school record for an 18-hole round at 67, at the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Manhattan, Kan., at the par-72, 6,046-yard Colbert Hills Country Club. She broke the previous record of 68 set by Amy Roux in the fall of 1998 and tied by Elizabeth Bahensky in fall 2000 and Merynn Ito in the fall of 2004.

Ruiz tied for first place at the end of tournament regulation with a one-under-par 215, but lost to Kansas State’s Helene Roberts on the second playoff hole.

At the Baja Invitational in Ensenada, Mexico, Feb. 13-14, Ruiz took first-place with a 223, four strokes ahead of second-place Rachel Newren of Brigham Young.

In addition, the Edmond, Okla., native produced three top-five scores during the fall and owns the third-best stroke average on the team at 75.33. Coming into the season, Head Coach Robin Krapfl predicted Ruiz would have a strong impact after redshirting the 2004-05 season to work on her swing.

"It feels great to play the kind of golf I have been playing so far," Ruiz said. "I have worked really hard to get where I am with my game right now, and I have really put in a lot of time. It’s really paying off for me now in my senior year."

Sackett Hoping to Continue Consistently Low Scores
Senior Sara Sackett made a strong impact in the Husker lineup through the fall 2005 campaign as Nebraska’s most consistent player. She has produced NU’s lowest stroke average 75.13 with all 15 of Sackett’s rounds being 78 or better, including three rounds under par.

Sackett had impressive finishes at all five of NU’s fall tournaments, earning runner-up honors at the 2005 Chip-N Club Invitational on Sept. 26-27, while also tying for fourth place at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate, Oct. 31-Nov. 1. In addition, she placed in the top 20 in three out of the five fall tournaments.

The Cambridge, Neb., native has shaved 4.72 strokes off of her 2004-05 average and shot a career-best 71 at the Ptarmigan Ram Invitational, Sept. 12-13.

Brown Capitalizes on 2004-05 Experience
Sophomore Elli Brown is coming off a successful freshman season and fall campaign, having the potential to make even greater impact in the lineup through the spring season.

At the Lady Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., Oct. 16-18 and the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Brown shot a career-best 224 and was Nebraska’s top finisher in both tournaments. At the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate she placed in a tie for fourth, giving her the third top-10 finish of the fall season. At the first tournament of the 2006 spring season, the Baja Invitational, Feb. 13-14, Brown placed third with 231.

Brown played in all of Nebraska's tournaments in 2004-05 and posted a 77.83 stroke average in the spring, the second-best average by a Husker. In the 2005 fall season she recorded a 75.20 stroke average over 15 rounds.

"Elli has great length and she is a very good iron player," Krapfl said. "Now that she has that freshman year out of the way, hopefully she's really going to feel comfortable shooting the scores that her golf game dictates that she would be able to shoot. I'm excited about her future."

Brown shot 78 or below in 14 of 15 fall rounds and produced two rounds below par. She shot 71 twice, which is one stroke away from her career-best 70 at the 2005 Betsy Rawls Tournament.

Huskers Earn Early National Ranking
The Nebraska women’s golf team has earned a No. 53 ranking this spring in the Golfstat polls after being ranked as high as 40th through the fall.

The Huskers have captured two tournament titles, the Chip-N Club Invitational, Sept. 26-27, and the Baja Invitational, Feb. 13-14. In addition, they have placed in the top-five in five of six tournaments through the 2005-06 season, producing a 302.3 stroke average through six tournaments.

Huskers Win Chip-N Club Invitational
The Nebraska women’s golf team fired a final-round 307 to cruise to its third consecutive Chip-N Club Invitational title at Wilderness Ridge Country Club, Sept. 27.

The Huskers, who strung together rounds of 295, 300 and 307, finished at 902 to out-perform second place Kansas State by 18 strokes.

All of Nebraska’s top-five players finished in the top 12 in an impressive show of depth from the Husker starters. Even more impressively, NU’s No. 6 player in the tournament, senior Jackie Beste, captured the first tournament title of her career by blistering the 6, 009-yard, par-72 layout at Wilderness Ridge with a career-best 220.

"I’m really proud of what Jackie did today," Krapfl said after the meet. "I know she wanted to be in the top five, and to come out and compete and perform shows what a competitor she is. I am really excited for her first collegiate win. As a team, we work hard and they are a great group to be around. I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished and excited to see what they can accomplish the rest of the season."

NU To Host Big 12 Tournament
Nebraska has been chosen to host the 2006 Big 12 Championship scheduled for April 17-19 at the Country Club of Lincoln.

The Huskers will try to improve on their seventh-place finish at the 2005 Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas. Oklahoma State will try to defend the championship on the par-72, 6,201-yard course at the Country Club of Lincoln.

McArdle Builds Off Minnesota Tournament
Junior Chrissie McArdle is building off a strong summer of competition this seaosn, providing the Huskers with consistently low numbers in NU’s lineup through the 2005-06 season.

Through the five fall tournaments, McArdle produced a 76.40 stroke average over 15 rounds, tying her career-best round of 71 at the Lady Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., Oct. 16-18. McArdle has also posted an impressive 13 rounds at or below 78.

Coming into the2005-06 season, McArdle owned the best returning stroke average on the team at 77.56 and has four career top-10 finishes along with nine career top-20 finishes. At the Baja Invitational tournament, Feb. 13-14, McArdle was one of three Huskers placing in the top-five, coming in fourth with a 234.

McArdle claimed the Minnesota Stroke Play Championship by three strokes at the Wayzata Country Club in Wayzata, Minn., on Aug. 17, finishing the 54-hole event with a five-over par 221, after shooting two-over 72 in the final round of competition.

She defeated players from at least five different Division I schools, including Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan and Iowa State. McArdle outclassed the rest of the talented field, defeating runner-up Leigh Klasse by three strokes. Lisa Meshke finished four strokes off McArdle’s pace at 225.