Huskers in Hunt at Chip-N Club

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's golf team battled cool temperatures and gusty winds to head to Monday's second round in second place with an opening-round 317 at the Chip-N Club Invitational at Yankee Hill Country Club. 

The Huskers trailed tournament leader Kansas State by just four strokes, after the Wildcats finished the first round at 313. The Huskers held a five-stroke edge over third-place Kansas, which closed the first round at 322, as the three Big 12 Conference teams controlled the leaderboard in the 14-team tournament.

Kansas State's Kali Quick climbed atop the individual leaderboard with her opening-round 76. KSU's Hailey Mireles added the second-best round of the morning round with her 77, which tied Nebraska's Chrissie McArdle for second place in the 80-player field.

The Huskers' Allison Stewart added a 78 to put her in a tie with Xavier's Kara Manis for fourth, while Husker Elli Brown contributed a 79 to tie her for sixth place with Jill Womble from Kansas.

Those seven players were the only golfers to produce opening rounds below 80, as the day began with temperatures in the low 40s, and northwest winds gusting between 15 and 25 mph throughout the day.

The par-72, 6,040-yard layout at Yankee Hill presented plenty of challenges to the field, as 14 of the 80 individuals in the tournament closed the opening round with scores of 90 or above.

The Huskers entered the second round with three of the top six scores, while Kansas State had four players in the top 10, including Michelle Regan and Katy Heffel  in a tie for eighth place at 80.

Complete first and second-round results will be posted at Huskers.com this evening.