Huskers Prepare for NCAA Regional

The Nebraska women’s golf ream earned its ninth NCAA Regional berth in the past 13 seasons, when the Huskers claimed a spot in the NCAA Central Regional hosted by Texas A&M at the Traditions Country Club in Bryan, Texas, May 11-13.

The 63-team tournament field is divided into three 21-team regionals. The Central Regional will present Nebraska with possibly the toughest field in the tournament, as No. 1 Duke occupies the top seed, followed by USC, Pepperdine and Big 12 Champion Texas A&M.

Other Big 12 teams included in the Central Regional field are Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma State, Missouri, Baylor and Texas, as six of the 12 teams from the conference earned NCAA bids.

"We definitely had a good feeling about our chances going into the tournament selection because we have played pretty solid golf throughout the season," Coach Robin Krapfl said. "We believe the Traditions course at Texas A&M is a good course that suits a lot of the individual golf games on our team."

Ruiz Earns All-Big 12 Honors
Senior Stephanie Ruiz earned second-team All-Big 12 honors from the conference coaches, the league office in Dallas announced on April 27.

The Edmond, Okla., native earned Big 12 Golfer-of-the-Month honors for February, and has produced a 75.48 stroke average this season, while shooting 78 or better in 25 of 33 rounds, including six rounds under par.

Ruiz won the Baja Invitational Tournament title in Ensenada, Mexico, with 223 (75-73-75), and added a second-place finish at the Central District Invitational with 219 (73-75-71). Ruiz helped the Huskers capture the tournament title as a team, while also boosting them into fourth place at the Central District Invitational.

Ruiz set a school record for an 18-hole round with 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 by Amy Roux in the fall of 1998 and tied by Elizabeth Bahensky in fall 2000 and Merynn Ito in the fall of 2004.

In addition, Ruiz has produced five top-five scores thus far in the 2005-06 season and owns the best stroke average on the team.

Sasse Named to Big 12 Conference 10th Anniversary Team
Former Nebraska women’s golfer Sarah Sasse, has been named to the Big 12 Conference 10th Anniversary team.

Sasse, who lettered in 2002, 2004 and 2005, was the first NU women’s golfer to receive first-team All-America honors in 2003. One of 11 golfers to make the list of All-Americans, Sasse was the only Big 12 golfer selected.

In addition, Sasse was the 2003 Big 12 Player of the Year, a 2003 Scholastic All-American, the 2003 April Big 12 Golfer of the Month, a three-time All-Big 12 honoree, a four-time academic All-Big 12 pick and a three-time NCAA participant.

The Lincoln, Neb., native also holds the individual school record for 36- and 54-hole scores with 138 and 209 strokes, respectively.

Huskers Tie For Fourth at Big 12 Championships
The Nebraska women’s golf team finished in a tie for fourth place at the Big 12 Women’s Golf Championships after firing a final-round 323 to finish the three-day tournament with 927 at the Country Club of Lincoln on April 19.

The Huskers entered the final round in fourth place after rounds of 307 and 297, but dropped behind Colorado, which shot a final-round 311 to finish with 922, placing third. Texas A&M won the tournament with 899 (302-293-304), 11 strokes ahead of Oklahoma State, which finished with 910 (301-291-318).

Senior Stephanie Ruiz was Nebraska’s top individual, placing 13th at 230. The Edmond, Okla., native shot 77 in the first round but came back to fire a 71 in the second round to leave her in a tie for eighth heading into the round. Ruiz battled the windy conditions in Lincoln to shoot 82 in the third round, finishing 15 strokes behind Texas A&M’s Ashley Knoll, who claimed the individual title with 215 (69-71-75).

Sophomore Allison Stewart shot 234 (77-76-81) to finish in a tie for 23rd. Sophomore Elli Brown entered the final round in a tie for fifth with rounds of 74 and 73, but struggled to shoot an 88 in the third day of competition to finish in a tie for 26th.

McArdle fought back in the final round to shoot 76 after struggling the first two rounds, finishing with 237.

Huskers Steady in National Rankings
The Nebraska women’s golf team jumped to No. 38 from 39th this week in the Golfstat national rankings.

The Huskers have a 304.61 stroke average over 33 rounds, coming off a tie for fourth place at the Big 12 Championships. This season, the Huskers have eight top-five placings and nine top-10 finishes through 11 tournaments. This spring, Nebraska also claimed the Baja Invitational title, Feb. 13-14, in Ensenada, Mexico.

The Huskers got a boost after beating five ranked teams at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 20-21, and capturing second place at the Mountain View Collegiate, March 25-26.

McArdle Emerges As A Threat In Husker Lineup
Junior Chrissie McArdle has emerged as a consistent threat through the Huskers’ 11 tournaments, producing the second-best stroke average on the team at 76.67 over 33 rounds, including 26 rounds at or below 78.

McArdle shot a career-low round of 70 at the Mountain View Collegiate Tournament, helping the Huskers break the 54-hole record with a career-low 215. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native surpassed her previous career-best round of 71 shot three different times, including the second round of the Mountain View Collegiate. McArdle broke her previous career-low tournament score of 221, which she fired at both the 2003 adidas Fall Classic and the 2004 Edwin Watts/Palmetto.

McArdle owns seven appearances in the top 20 this season and two top-five performances.

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 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. Ito, Beste, Gehring and Stewart earned honors for their cumulative GPAs of 3.5 or higher. Nebraska leads the nation with 42 all-time NGCA Scholastic All-Americans.

Brown Capitalizes on 2004-05 Experience
Sophomore Elli Brown came off a successful freshman season and has made a great impact through the 2005-06 campaign. 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. Through 33 rounds this season she has produced a 76.73 stroke average in all 11 tournaments, third-best on the Huskers’ roster.

Brown has shot 78 or below in 23 of 33 rounds this season and produced three rounds below par. She shot 71 four times, which is one stroke away from her career-best 70 at the 2005 Betsy Rawls Tournament.

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 a 77.38 stroke average with 22 of 32 rounds being 78 or better, including three rounds under par.

The Cambridge, Neb., native 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.

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.

Each 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.