Huskers in Hunt at Wildcat Invite

Lexington, Ky. - Nebraska's Elli Brown fired the best round of the day to lead the Huskers to the top team round of the day over the second 18 holes at the Kentucky Wildcat Invitational on Saturday.

Brown's even-par 72 in the second round helped the Huskers produce a 307 in the afternoon round on the University Club course in Lexington. The strong round by the Huskers allowed them to stay in the hunt for the team title with a two-round total of 634, just four strokes behind the leaders from Louisville.

The Huskers, who won the 2006 Chip-N Club Tournament title in their last outing, managed a 327 in the opening round on the challenging 6,157-yard, par-72 layout at the University Club. The course produced only two team scores below 320 in the opening round on Saturday, from a 15-team field that included seven teams that qualified for NCAA Regional play in 2006.

Scoring conditions improved in the second round as golfers adjusted  to the course, and Nebraska led the way, firing the lowest score of the first day of competition with a 307.

Nebraska's second-round score enabled the Huskers to pick up 12 strokes on the first-round tournament leaders from Memphis. The Tigers opened the tournament with a 312 in the morning round, before managing a 319 in the second round.

Memphis enters the final round in a tie for second with North Carolina State at 631, just three strokes ahead of the Huskers and one stroke behind the Cardinals from Louisville. 

Louisville heads into the Sunday's final 18 holes with a one stroke lead over the Wolfpack and Tigers at 630, after producing rounds of 320 and 310 on Saturday.

Sunday's final round shapes up for some exciting golf with only seven strokes separating the top eight teams in the tournament.

Brown and freshman Kate White led the Huskers Saturday, entering the final round in a four-way tie for third place at 154. Brown a native of Meridian, Idaho, bounced back from an opening-round 82 to fire the best round of the tournament with an even-par 72 in the second round.

White, a Waukegan, Ill., native, produced two solid rounds of 77 to join Brown six strokes behind tournament leader Amanda Mathis from Mississippi State. Louisville's Adrienne White is in second place at 152 through two rounds.

Senior Andrea Carlson (Dunagan) also provided a lift for the Huskers with her second-round 78. The Grand Island, Neb., native sits in a tie for 27th entering the final round at 161. She is tied with fellow Islander JC Stevenson, who managed rounds of 81 and 80 while playing as an individual on Saturday.

The Huskers certainly feel fortunate to be in the hunt for a team title after overcoming some first-round adversity. Junior Allison Stewart was disqualified from the opening round, leaving the Huskers with only four golfers to score in the first round. Senior Chrissie McArdle, who finished second at the Chip-N Club Invitational last week and is one of Nebraska's most experienced and consistent golfers, battled through a rare round of 85, while Carlson had to count an 83 and Brown an 82.

White provided the anchor for the Huskers in the first round with her solid 77, before the Huskers regrouped in the second round. Brown scorched the course with her 72, while White added another 77, and Carlson came through with a nice round of 78. McArdle settled for an 80 in the second round, as she enters the final day of competition in a tie for 45th at 165.

The Huskers will conclude the final round of competition at the Wildcat Invitational on Sunday at 9 a.m.

2006 Kentucky Wildcat Fall Invitational
Lexington, Ky.
University Club
Par 72, 6,157 Yards

Team Standings
(Through Two Rounds)
1. Louisville (320-310-630)
2. NC State (316-315-631)
    Memphis (312-319-631)
4. Nebraska (327-307-634)
5. Augusta State (324-311-635)
6. Miami (322-314-636)
7. Birmingham Southern (329-308-637)
    Ole Miss (321-316-637)
9. Central Florida (332-309-641)
10. Mississippi State (328-315-643)
11. Richmond (337-318-655)
      Kentucky (329-326-655)
13. East Carolina (338-321-659)
14. Murray State (344-342-686)
15. Eastern Kentucky (350-340-690)

Individual Leaderboard
1. Amanda Mathis, Mississippi State (75-73-148)
2. Adrienne White, Louisville (78-74-152)
3. Elli Brown, Nebraska (82-72-154)
    Kate White, Nebraska (77-77-154)
    Stacey Tate, Memphis (77-77-154)
    Sara Grantham, Ole Miss (80-74-154)
7. Josie Shinn, Miami (81-75-156)
    Amanda Smith, Augusta State (78-78-156)
    Katie Davidson, Ole Miss (76-80-156)
    Lauren Doughtie, NC State (79-77-156)
    Rachel Larson, Memphis (75-81-156)

Other Nebraska Players
T27. Andrea Carlson (Dunagan) (83-78-161)
T27. JC Stevenson (81-80-161)*
T45. Chrissie McArdle (85-80-165)
DQ. Allison Stewart (DQ-82)

*playing as an individual, does not count toward team score