White Ties School Record in Idaho

Boise, Idaho - True freshman Kate White tied Nebraska's individual school record with an opening-round 67 to lead the Nebraska women's golf team into a tie for first through 36 holes at the 17-team Bronco Invitational hosted by Boise State on Monday.

White's four-under-par 67 on the par-71, 6,177-yard layout at the Banbury Course matched Stephanie Ruiz's school-record round set Oct. 10, 2005 in the second round of the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Manhattan, Kan.

Along with tying a school record, it was a personal best round for the 18-year-old from Waukegan, Ill., whose previous low score came with a 69 at regionals during her senior year of high school.

"This morning it was so cold I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get going, but then I birdied the first hole and kept gaining confidence from there," White said. "I got a couple more birdies after that and I just continued to ignore my score and stay focused on each hole and each shot."

White's focus paid off. She started her morning with a birdie on the 18th hole, then heated up the chilly front nine with a four-under-par 31, leaving her five-under-par through 10 holes of golf.

"The funny thing is that I almost had an eagle about three times, so it could have been an even lower score," White said. "I knew it felt really good, and I knew I had a low score going, but I didn't know for sure until about the last two holes when I finally got curious and looked. I guess I shouldn't have done that and just kept playing."

White finished her record round with bogeys on her final two holes to finish at 67.

"Kate's first round was just unbelievable today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She was always in good position. She just played fairway to green to give herself a chance for a great score."

In addition to the bright spot provided by White, the weather in the first round provided the Huskers with a welcome change of pace in their fourth fall tournament. After playing in rugged scoring conditions in nearly every round of their first three tournaments, the morning round in Boise provided near perfect scoring conditions.

"The sun was shining and it was calm on the course, and I think it brightened everybody's mood in the first round," Krapfl said. "There were really good scoring conditions in the first round. Then the weather turned on us midway through the second, which is what we have played in the first three tournaments. It was cold and the weather became a factor. Fortunately for us, our experience in adverse conditions probably helped us in the second round."

With White leading the way, Nebraska posted a solid 296 in the opening round to trail only UC Davis, which posted the best round of the day with a 287 over the first 18 holes.

The Huskers made up the nine-stroke deficit in the second round, posting a season-low 292 despite the poor playing conditions in the second round. UC Davis managed a 301 to send the Huskers into Tuesday's final 18 holes tied for the lead at 588. NU and UC Davis own a commanding 24-stroke lead over Brigham Young and the hosts from Boise State, who enter the final round in a tie for third at 612.

White added a 73 in the second to finish the first 36 holes at 140, just two strokes shy of Sarah Sasse's 36-hole school record of 138 set at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in 2002.

White enters the final round in first place individually with a two-stroke lead over Sydney Roughton from UC Davis. Nebraska's local favorite Elli Brown is also in the hunt for the tournament title.

The Meridian, Idaho, native fired an even-par 71 in the second round to go with her two-over-par 73 on the first 18 holes to enter the final day in third place at 144.

The Big 12 Golfer of the Month for September, Brown will be gunning for her fourth consecutive top-five tournament finish to open the season, and she will be doing it in front of large contingent of Husker fans, family and friends.

Nearly 200 members of the Idahoans for Nebraska, along with Brown's backers showed their support for the Huskers throughout the day, according to Krapfl.

"I was really happy for Elli. She had a lot of family and friends here and she played some really solid golf," Krapfl said. "I'm sure she felt some pressure with a lot of people watching her, but she was up to the mental challenge. It was great when she started the day off with an eagle on her first hole."

True freshman JC Stevenson (Grand Island, Neb.) added a strong 73 in the second round, while senior Chrissie McArdle contributed a 75 to help the Huskers claim a tie for the top spot in the team standings after two rounds. McArdle and Stevenson enter the final round in a tie for 14th place at 152.

Grand Island native Andrea Carlson (Dunagan) also enjoyed a career day for the Huskers. Playing as an individual, Carlson is in the hunt for her first career top 10 finish after tying her career low with a 74 in the opening round and adding a 75 in the second round to sit in a tie for seventh place.

The Huskers will shoot for the second tournament title of the season with the final 18 holes on the Banbury Course beginning at 10 a.m. central time on Tuesday.

Team Standings (Through 36 holes)
Banbury Golf Club
Boise, Idaho
Par 71, 6,177 Yards
Monday, Oct. 9, 2006

1. Nebraska (296-292-588)
    UC Davis (287-301-588)
3. Brigham Young (309-303-612)
    Boise State (300-312-612)
5. Xavier (307-311-618)
6. Montana (313-309-622)
7. Wyoming (310-320-630)
8. Eastern Washington (314-317-631)
9. Santa Clara (311-321-632)
10. Montana State (311-324-635)
11. Portland (311-325-636)
12. Weber State (316-324-640)
13. Portland State (317-324-641)
14. British Columbia (317-334-651)
15. Boise State (332-320-652)
16. South Dakota State (328-330-658)
17. Idaho State (342-335-677)

Individual Leaderboard
1. Kate White, Nebraska (67-73-140)
2. Sydney Roughton, UC Davis (69-73-142)
3. Elli Brown, Nebraska (73-71-144)
4. Hannah Summerhays, BYU (75-70-145)
5. Kara Manis, Xavier (70-76-146)
6. Bryana Gregory, UC Davis (70-77-147)
7. Andrea Carlson (Dunagan)*, Nebraska (74-75-149)
    Krista Swanson, Montana (74-75-149)
9. Taryn Kuida, Portland (72-78-150)
    Jill Walker, Montana (76-74-150)
    Samantha Trask, Santa Clara (74-76-150)
    Eryn Williams, UC Davis (74-76-150)
13. Mary Beth McKenna, Xavier (73-78-151)
14. Chrissie McArdle, Nebraska  (77-75-152)
      JC Stevenson, Nebraska (79-73-152)
*Playing as individual, does not count toward team score

Other Huskers
T66. Megan Place (84-82-166)