Huskers Head to Kentucky Wildcat Invite

Fresh off its first tournament title of 2006-07, the Nebraska women’s golf team heads south for the first time this season to compete in the Kentucky Wildcat Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1.

The Huskers open the 14-team tournament hosted by the University of Kentucky on Saturday at 8 a.m. Nebraska will play two rounds on Saturday before playing the final 18 holes on the 6,147-yard, par-72 layout of the University Club course on Sunday morning.

Nebraska heads to Kentucky after capturing its fourth consecutive Chip-N Club Invitational championship Sept. 18-19 at Yankee Hill Country Club in Lincoln.

The Huskers won the 14-team tournament by six strokes over 2006 NCAA Regional qualifier Campbell, while finishing 14 strokes ahead of another 2006 regional squad, Kansas.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl, who is in her 20th season at the helm of the Huskers, will be hoping the victories over good competition will prepare her team well for an impressive field in Lexington.

Seven of the 14 schools at the Wildcat Invitational played in NCAA Regional competition in 2006, including East Regional qualifiers Augusta State, East Carolina, Louisville, Mississippi State and North Carolina State. Nebraska joined Birmingham Southern in the Central Regional field last season.

Nebraska will be hoping for good weather and prime scoring conditions in Kentucky this weekend. The Huskers’ first two tournaments presented plenty of scoring challenges to NU golfers. At the Badger Invitational, Nebraska battled its way to a third-place team finish despite constant rain, steady winds and cold weather.

At the Chip-N Club Invitational the following week, the Huskers stayed dry, but a gusting northwest wind wreaked havoc with the players and made scoring difficult.

Senior Chrissie McArdle posted a career-best second-place finish at the Chip-N Club Invite after tying for the lead at the end of regulation. McArdle closed the tournament at 13-over-par 229 with a low round of 75. Only one golfer in the entire 80-player field managed to shoot par for a single round at Yankee Hill.

Kentucky Wildcat Invitational Information
Host: University of Kentucky
Course: University Club
Layout: 6,157 Yards, Par 72
Rounds: 3 (36 holes Saturday, 18 holes Sunday)

Nebraska Lineup
1. Chrissie McArdle, Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.
2. Elli Brown, Jr., Meridian, Idaho
3. Kate White, Fr., Waukegan, Ill.
4. Allison Stewart, Jr., Vermillion, S.D.
5. Andrea Carlson (Dunagan), Jr., Grand Island, Neb.

Nebraska Individual
JC Stevenson, Fr., Grand Island, Neb.

Huskers Win Fourth Straight Chip-N Club Title
Despite challenging scoring conditions created by strong winds in Lincoln, the Huskers battled their way to their fourth straight Chip-N Club Invitational title Sept. 18-19 at Yankee Hill Country Club.

Senior Chrissie McArdle led the way for Nebraska with her career-best second-place showing in the tournament. McArdle, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., tied for first at the end of regulation with a 229, but settled for second after Missouri State’s Sally Hinton earned individual medalist honors on the second playoff hole.

Junior Elli Brown added her second top-five finish of the fall by closing the tournament in a tie for fourth at 231, just two strokes off the pace set by McArdle and Hinton.

True freshman Kate White enjoyed another strong showing in her second collegiate tournament by joining McArdle and Brown in the top 10. White, a native of Waukegan, Ill., posted a 75 in both the second and third rounds to finish in sole possession of seventh place at 233 for her first career top-10 showing. It was the second top-20 effort of White’s young career, after she finished in a tie for 19th at the Badger Invitational to open the season.

Husker junior Allison Stewart managed a 14th-place finish at 238, while true freshman Charlotte Wendner just missed her first career top-20 finish in her first career tournament by closing in a tie for 21st at 242.

A third true freshman, JC Stevenson, managed a tie for 27th with a 244, after opening her career by tying for 12th at the Badger Invitational.

True Freshmen Making Immediate Contributions
True freshmen Kate White, JC Stevenson and Charlotte Wendner are off to strong starts in their Nebraska careers.

White, a native of Waukegan, Ill., finished in the top 20 in each of her first two career tournaments, including an impressive seventh-place showing at the Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 18-19. Three of White’s six rounds have been 75 or below, including a 73 in brutal scoring conditions in the final round of the Badger Invitational to open the season.

Stevenson, a Grand Island, Neb., native, overcame the rainy, cold and windy conditions at the University Ridge Golf Course in Wisconsin for an even-par 72 on the final day of the tournament to close in a tie for 12th place. She added a tie for 27th at the Chip-N Club Invitational that included a final-round 75.

While White and Stevenson have both played in Nebraska’s first two tournaments, a third true freshman, Charlotte Wendner, made her first appearance at the Chip-N Club Invitational. After a rough opening round, Wendner bounced back to climb into a tie for 21st that included a final-round 76.

Brown Off to Strong Start to Open Junior Season
Junior Elli Brown has shown consistency in her first two tournaments to open the 2006 fall season, finishing in the top five in both events.

Brown tied for fourth with a 231 (79-77-75) to help the Huskers to their fourth straight Chip-N Club Invitational title Sept. 18-19, one week after finishing fifth (78-77-73-228) at the Badger Invitational.

Brown’s early season efforts increased her career total to six top-10 finishes among a dozen top-25 showings in her career.

Through six rounds, Brown leads the Huskers with a 76.50 season stroke average, slightly ahead of her 76.85 stroke average from her sophomore season. Brown’s stroke average is even more impressive this year considering all six of her rounds have come in extremely difficult scoring conditions.

Last season, Brown’s 76.85 average ranked 19th in the Big 12 Conference, right behind returning teammate Chrissie McArdle.

Like McArdle, Brown played in all 40 rounds for the Huskers in 2005-06, and Brown is Nebraska’s top returning finisher at the NCAA Championships, where she placed 79th in her first trip to nationals. As a sophomore, Brown posted six top-20 finishes and shot 78 or below in 28 of 40 rounds, including three rounds below par. She shot 71 on four occasions as a sophomore, one stroke shy of her career-best 70 at the Betsy Rawls Invitational in 2005.

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 NU’s top finisher in both tournaments. At the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate she tied for fourth, giving her the third top-10 finish of the fall season. At the Baja Invitational, Feb. 13-14, Brown placed third with 231.

At the Big 12 Championships, Brown gave the Huskers a lift with a second-round 73 to finish with 235, finishing in a tie for 26th. She helped the Huskers to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional with 233 to tie for 49th.

Senior McArdle Proven Performer in Husker Lineup
Chrissie McArdle emerged as a consistent threat through the 2005-06 campaign, producing the second-best stroke average on the team at 76.80 over 40 rounds, including 31 rounds at or below 78. McArdle returns with NU’s top returning stroke average in 2006-07, which ranked 18th in the Big 12 Conference a year ago.

The Eden Prairie, Minn., native finished in the top 20 in seven tournaments last season, including two top-five finishes. She was also in the starting lineup for all 40 of Nebraska’s rounds.

After a rough start at the Badger Invitational this fall when she tied for 27th with a 239, McArdle bounced back with the top finish of her collegiate career with her second-place showing at the Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 18-19. McArdle’s 229 (77-75-77) matched Missouri State’s Sally Hinton at the end of regulation, before Hinton prevailed on the second playoff hole.

Although McArdle just missed her first career individual title, she did lead the Huskers to their fourth straight Chip-N Club title.

McArdle shot a career-low round of 70 at the Mountain View Collegiate, helping the Huskers break the 54-hole record with a career-low 215. She surpassed her previous career-best round of 71 shot three times last season, 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.

In addition, McArdle concluded the 2005-06 season with a tie for 33rd (237) at the Big 12 Championships and helped the Huskers earn eighth place at the NCAA Central Regional, placing in a tie for 35th with 231. At the NCAA Championships, McArdle scored a 311 and placed in a tie for 88th.

Huskers Pursue Second Straight NCAA Championships Bid
After producing one of the best seasons in school history in 2005-06, Nebraska will try to rewrite history again in 2006-07 by becoming the first Husker women’s golf team to make back-to-back trips to the 24-team NCAA Championships.

The Huskers, who finished 20th at the 2006 NCAA Championships, made just the third trip to nationals in school history. NU ended the year with the second-best NCAA finish in the record book, trailing only their 19th-place showing in 2000.

Nebraska capped its NCAA Championship performance by firing its finest NCAA Championship-round ever with an 11-over-par 299. NU’s record-setting round, which surpassed its previous top round at the NCAA Championships by three strokes, gave the Huskers another NCAA Championship school mark of 1,221 for the 72-hole tournament.

The previous school record for the top 18-hole effort in the NCAA Championships came with a 302 in the third round of the 2000 NCAA Championships at the Crosswater Golf Club in Sunriver, Ore. The Huskers also sliced 18 strokes off their previous tournament record score, which also came in the 2000 NCAA Championships with a 1,239.

In addition to the record-breaking team scores at the NCAA Championships, the Huskers received one of the top individual efforts in school history at nationals.

All-Big 12 senior Stephanie Ruiz closed her career with a three-over-par 75 on the final day to finish at 301, matching Elizabeth Bahensky’s 301 at the 2000 NCAA Championships for the best individual tournament score in school history. Ruiz’s 13-over-par 301 (72-76-78-75) put her in a tie for 38th place.

Nebraska started its run to the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships at the Country Club of Lincoln. The Huskers’ strong Big 12 performance helped them earn a spot as the No. 15 seed at the NCAA Central Regional. The Huskers qualified for nationals with an eighth-place showing at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.

Overall, the Huskers closed the season with the best stroke average in school history at 304.88 over 40 rounds, the most rounds ever played by a Nebraska team. The Huskers also claimed two team titles, while also earning nine top-five finishes and 11 top-10 showing in the 13 events.

Huskers Return Solid Nucleus for 2006-07 Season
The 2006-07 Huskers return a strong nucleus to build around this season.Three starters, including senior Chrissie McArdle and juniors Elli Brown and Allison Stewart return from the 2006 team that finished 20th at the NCAA Championships.

McArdle, who owns the best returning stroke average on the team with 76.80, returns as a three-year starter in the NU lineup.

Brown and Stewart both earned time in the NU lineup the past two seasons and will add leadership roles as juniors in 2006-07. Brown played in all 13 tournaments for the Huskers as a true sophomore and finished with a 76.85 stroke average.

Stewart participated in eight tournaments in the NU lineup in 2005-06 and finished the year with a 78.48 stroke average over 25 rounds.

Huskers Enjoyed Historic 2005-06 Season
The Huskers rewrote school history during a record-setting 2005-06 campaign. NU finished the year with the best stroke average in school history at 304.88. The Huskers also broke the school records for 36-hole team score, 54-hole team score and 72-hole NCAA Championship score.

At the Mountain View Collegiate, March 25-26, the Huskers scored 885 through three rounds to surpass the previous 54-hole record of 887 set at the 1997 Colorado Invitational on the Coal Creek Golf Course.

The Huskers tied the 1998-99 team’s 36-hole score of 582 at the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational, Oct. 10-11, in Manhattan, Kan. The record was previously set at the 1998 Chip-N Club Invitational hosted by the Huskers on Sept. 14, 1998.

Nebraska’s 1,221 over 72 holes at the 2006 NCAA Championships was 18 strokes better than the 2000 Huskers’ 1,239 score. The Huskers surpassed the 18-hole record for a Nebraska team at the 2006 NCAA Championships, as NU’s final-round 299 surpassed the 2000 squad’s score of 302 in the third round.

All-Big 12 senior Stephanie Ruiz also made her way into the NU record books by breaking the 18-hole record with 67 at the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational.