Huskers Face Loaded Field at Derby Invite

Lincoln - After a 16-day break from competition, the Nebraska women’s golf team will head south to face its most talent-laden tournament field of the season at the Auburn Tiger-Derby Invitational Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28.

The Huskers, who produced a school-record three-round total of 884 in winning the Bronco Invitational in Boise, Idaho, the last time out, will battle a 16-team field that features 14 squads that qualified for 2006 NCAA Regional competition.

Seven of the teams competing at the Derby Invitational advanced to the 24-team NCAA Championships field in 2006, including Nebraska.

With a distinct postseason atmosphere, the Huskers will hope to continue building after producing the best scores in school history in Idaho, Oct. 9-10.

True freshman Kate White won her first career individual title with a three-round total of 213 (67-73-73) at the Bronco Invite. Her opening-round, four-under-par 67 tied the school record set by Steph Ruiz a year ago.

Junior Elli Brown, the reigning Big 12 Golfer of the Month, added her best career effort by tying for second place at 216 (73-71-72). Brown, a native of Meridian, Idaho, slashed eight strokes off her previous career-low tournament total.

True freshman JC Stevenson added a career-low 227 to finish in 13th place, one stroke ahead of teammates Chrissie McArdle and Andrea Carlson (Dunagan), who both finished at 228.

Those five players will make up Nebraska’s lineup against a star-studded field in Auburn. The host Tigers enter the tournament ranked No. 2 in the country, after finishing 12th at last year’s NCAA Championships. Florida tied for sixth at last year’s championships, while Tennessee (13th), Florida State (16th), LSU (23rd) and Alabama (24th) also earned spots in the NCAA Championships. The Huskers finished 20th nationally a year ago.

White, Brown Lead Huskers to School-Record Effort in Idaho
Kate White tied the school record with an opening-round 67 on her way to her first individual title, and Idaho native Elli Brown added a career-best tournament score to tie for second at the Bronco Invitational in Boise, Oct. 9-10.

White, a true freshman from Waukegan, Ill., finished the 54-hole tournament with a career-low 213, three strokes ahead of Brown’s career-best 216.

True freshman JC Stevenson added a career-best 227 to finish in 13th, one stroke ahead of teammates Chrissie McArdle and Andrea Carlson (Dunagan), who tied for 14th at 228.

The consistently low scores from top to bottom in NU’s lineup allowed the Huskers to eclipse the school record for lowest three-round score. Nebraska’s 884 team total shaved one stroke off the previous mark and it was 45 strokes better than NU’s previous season-low round.

Brown Earns First Big 12 Golfer-of-the-Month Award
Nebraska junior Elli Brown captured the first Big 12 Golfer-of-the-Month honor of her career and the conference’s first monthly honor of the 2006-07 season, the league office announced on Oct. 5.

Brown has finished in the top five individually in each of Nebraska’s first four tournaments to open the 2006 campaign, including a career-best tie for second and a career-low 216 at the Bronco Invitational, Oct. 9-10.

She added a fourth-place finish to lead the Huskers to their fourth consecutive Chip-N Club title Sept. 18-19. She added a tie for fifth at the Wildcat Fall Invitational in Lexington, Ky., Sept. 30-Oct. 1, in a 15-team tournament field that included seven squads that earned 2006 NCAA Regional berths.

Brown opened the season by finishing fifth at the Badger Invitational in Verona, Wis. Overall, Brown has produced a team-leading 75.33 stroke average through Nebraska’s first 12 fall rounds.

With four top-five finishes in 2006-07, Brown owns eight career top-10 finishes at Nebraska and 14 career top-25 showings. She finished 26th at last year’s Big 12 Championships and 79th at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

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

Brown played in all 40 rounds and posted six top-20 finishes. She played 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 then-career-best 224 and was NU’s top finisher in both tournaments.

Huskers Own Two Victories in First Four Tournaments
Along with their school-record showing on their way to victory at the Bronco Invitational, Oct. 9-10, the Huskers overcame challenging scoring conditions to win 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.

Elli Brown tied for fourth at 231, while Kate White finished seventh at 233 for her first career top-10 showing.

Last season, Nebraska produced a pair of tournament titles at the Baja Invitational and the Chip-N Club Invitational on its way to a 20th-place finish 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. Her stroke average 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.

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

White, a native of Waukegan, Ill., has finished in the top 30 in each of her first four career tournaments, including her first career title at the Bronco Invitational. Her win in Boise, Idaho, included a school-record-tying 67 in the opening round.She added an impressive seventh-place showing at the Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 18-19. Eight of White’s 12 rounds have been 77 or below, including a 73 in brutal scoring conditions in the final round of the Badger Invitational and two more 73s at the Bronco Invitational.

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 13th-place finish and a career-low 227 at the Bronco Invitational. She also tie for 27th at the Chip-N Club Invitational that included a final-round 75.

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 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.