Huskers Open Fall Season at Badger Invite

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s golf team tees off its 2006 fall season by traveling to the University of Wisconsin to compete in the Badger Invitational, Sept. 10-11.

The 54-hole tournament, opens Sunday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. on the 6,175-yard, par-72 layout of the University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wis.

Sunday’s second round begins at 1 p.m., before the final round begins on Monday at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start.

The Huskers open 2006-07 after producing one of the best campaigns in school history in 2005-06. Nebraska finished 20th at the NCAA Championships, the only team in this year’s 11-team Badger Invitational field that advanced to the national tournament.

The Huskers have never played in the Badger Invitational, which was won by Purdue in 2005. However, the 11-team field features many familiar faces, including Big 12 foes Oklahoma, Kansas State and Iowa State. The Big Ten will also be well represented by the hosts from Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota. Louisville, Memphis, Georgetown and Illinois State round out the field.

Nebraska will feature a mix of old and new in the first tournament of 2006-07. Returning starters Elli Brown (Meridian, Idaho) and Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, Minn.) will lead the Husker lineup in the top two spots. Brown and McArdle both ranked among the top 20 players in the Big 12 last season and could give Nebraska one of the best one-two punches in the league in 2006-07.

While the Huskers will feature experience at the top of the lineup, sophomore Megan Place (Omaha, Neb.) and true freshmen Kate White (Waukegan, Ill.) and JC Stevenson (Grand Island, Neb.) will be in new roles in the Nebraska lineup.

True Freshmen Hope to Make Splash in Nebraska Debuts
Freshmen JC Stevenson and Kate White will get a chance to make immediate contributions to the Nebraska women’s golf program in 2006-07, after earning spots in the Huskers’ starting five at the Badger Invitational.

Stevenson, a native of Grand Island, Neb., played her way into Nebraska’s lineup during preseason qualifying. Her early qualifying rounds followed on the heels of a tremendous summer of state tournament action in Nebraska.

Stevenson won the 2006 Nebraska Women’s Stroke Play title, and captured the 2006 Nebraska Girls Junior Match Play crown. She also advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s Match Play, after finishing as the Class A state runner-up.

White, a native of Waukegan, Ill., also produced a solid summer of competition and came to Lincoln with one of the most impressive prep resumes in recent history. She was ranked No. 56 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior rankings in 2006 and finished among the top 20 at the PGA Junior National Championships in 2005.

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 nationalis in school history. NU ended the 2005-06 campaign with the second-best NCAA finish in the Nebraska 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. Nebraska’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 Cap Historic Season
The Huskers helped rewrite school history during a record-setting 2005-06 women’s golf campaign. The 2005-06 squad 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. Ruiz also tied Elizabeth Bahensky’s 301 for the best score at the NCAA Championships.

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 Nebraska’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. Overall, McArdle has played nearly 100 rounds of golf in the NU lineup in her career.

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 wrapped 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 and placed in a tie for 88th.

Brown Continues to Improve at Halfway Point in NU Career
Junior Elli Brown opens the season as the No. 1 player in Nebraska’s lineup after an outstanding sophomore campaign.

In 2006-07, Brown posted an impressive stroke average of 76.85 to rank 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. The Meridian, Idaho, native 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, greatly improving her consistency from her freshman season. On the year, Brown 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 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 Baja Invitational, Feb. 13-14, Brown placed third with 231.

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

Freshman Class May Be Best in School History
While JC Stevenson and Kate White will get a chance to make immediate impacts in the Nebraska lineup in their first collegiate tournaments, Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl may be able to insert other freshmen into the lineup during the season.

In addition to the strong credentials of Stevenson and White, freshman Charlotte Wendner brings international experience to Nebraska. The 20-year-old native of Bjarred, Sweden, was ranked as the 13th-best girls player in Sweden in 2004, and Krapfl said Wendner may contend for a spot in the lineup during the season.

Sydney Sturdevant, the 2005 South Dakota Junior Player of the Year, also brings championship experience to the Huskers as a freshman. The native of Sioux Falls is a two-time South Dakota High School Class AA champion.

Rachel Hanigan also carries an impressive prep resume with her to Lincoln as a three-time Iowa Player of the Year. Hanigan was a tremendous all-around athlete at Boyer Valley High School, where she was an all-state performer on the course and an all-conference competitor in both basketball and volleyball.

Huskers Shoot for Fourth Straight Chip-N Club Title
After opening the season in Wisconsin, the Nebraska women’s golf team will return to Lincoln to host the Chip-N Club Invitational at Yankee Hill Golf Course, Sept. 18-19. The 54-hole tournament will tee off at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 18, with the first 36 holes being contested. It will conclude with the final round on Tuesday, Sept. 19, beginning at 8 a.m.

The Huskers won their third straight Chip-N Club title at Wilderness Ridge Country Club last season. NU strung together rounds of 295, 300 and 307, finishing 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, Jackie Beste, captured the tournament title with a career-best 220.