Huskers Open Season with Chip-N Club Invite

The Nebraska women’s golf team opens its 2007-08 season by playing host to its only home tournament of the season with the Chip-N Club Invitational at Woodland Hills Golf Club in Eagle, Neb., on Monday, Sept. 10 and Tuesday, Sept. 11.

The 54-hole event on one of the state of Nebraska’s premier courses opens with 36 holes on Monday, beginning with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The final round will be played on Tuesday with a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m.

One of the largest tournament fields in Chip-N Club history will attack the 6,079-yard, Par 71 layout at Woodland Hills.

A trio of Big 12 teams, including Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State, will be sprinkled among a field that includes three teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, four teams from the Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference), two from the Big Sky, two more from the Southland, one from the Sun Belt, along with Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference and William & Mary from the Colonial. Redlands Community College, one of the top teams in NJCAA, will also challenge for the tournament title.

Husker fans around the world can follow the tournament action with live scoring provided by GolfStat.com. A link to GolfStat’s web site will be available on Huskers.com.

Woodland Hills Makes First Appearance as Home to Chip-N Club
Nebraska’s annual Chip-N Club Invitational will be making its first appearance at Woodland Hills Golf Club, located approximately 15 minutes from Lincoln at 6000 Woodland Hills Drive in Eagle, Neb. (68347).

Nebraska’s only five-star golf course, and one of only 17 in North America, Golf Digest picked Woodland Hills as one of the "Best Places to Play" in both 2006-07 and 2004-05. It has also been ranked among the top five courses in North America in both value and pace of play in recent years.

The Jeff Brauer-designed course provides challenges to players of all skill levels. Tees are located for a Par 71 for distances up to 6,600 yards. Woodland Hills Features Bent Grass Fairways, Tees and some of the best Bent Grass Greens in North America. A total of 36 different bunkers, 84 different tee boxes, and water that comes into play on six holes makes Woodland Hills not only beautiful but an enjoyable challenge.

Four Returning Starters Give Huskers Solid Nucleus in 2007-08
The Nebraska women’s golf team returns four starters, including returning first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection Elli Brown, to its 2007-08 roster after qualifying for NCAA Regional play last season.

The Huskers, who earned a spot in the 24-team NCAA Championship field in 2006, will begin their pursuit of a bid in college golf’s biggest tournament by playing host to the Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 10-11 at Woodland Hills Golf Club.

In addition to the talent and experience that three-year starter and All-America candidate Elli Brown brings to the Husker lineup, senior Allison Stewart brings plenty of leadership and experience of her own. A three-time NGCA Scholastic All-American who has been a part-time starter in NU’s lineup the past three seasons, Stewart is a leader on the course, in the classroom and in the community for the Huskers.

Nebraska’s two seniors are joined by a pair of sophomores who earned full-time starting spots as true freshmen in the Husker lineup last season. Kate White, was one of NU’s top performers last season. The native of Waukegan, Ill., enjoyed one of the best freshman seasons in school history a year ago, competing in all 35 rounds and earning Midseason Freshman All-America honors from GolfWorld.

Stevenson, a native of Grand Island, Neb., contributed to Nebraska’s lineup throughout the season, playing in every round.

All-Big 12 Brown Hopes to Chase All-America Honors as Senior
Nebraska junior Elli Brown hopes to make a strong case for All-America honors in her final year as a Husker. A first-team All-Big 12 selection as a junior in 2007, Brown finished third at the Big 12 Championships.

Brown, a three-year starter from Meridian, Idaho, owns 12 career top-10 finishes as a Husker, including eight a year ago, while posting 19 top-25 career finishes at NU. Along with her success on the course, she has also earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in the classroom during her career and is a member of Nebraska’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

"Elli has been solid for us week-in and week-out for three years in our lineup," Krapfl said. "Last year, she took on more of a leadership role on our team as well, so she should be an undeniable leader on this year’s squad."

As a junior, Brown bolted out off the tee box for a blistering start to the fall season. She finished in the top 10 individually in each of Nebraska’s five fall tournaments and earned the conference’s first Big 12 Golfer-of-the-Month award last September.

Stewart to Offer Stabilizing Presence in Husker Lineup
Joining Elli Brown as a leader in 2007-08 will be Allison Stewart. The fifth-year senior from Vermillion, S.D., has been a valuable contributor in Nebraska’s lineup at the Big 12 Championships each of the past three seasons, helping the Huskers qualify for NCAA Regionals each of the last two years.

Stewart came on strong at the end of her junior season and was one of Nebraska’s most reliable golfers down the stretch, which included a 20th-place showing at the Big 12 Championships.

Along with her success on the course, Stewart has been a star in the classroom at Nebraska. A three-time NGCA Scholastic All-American, Stewart earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors last year, and may contend for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors this season.

Stewart produced the best finish of her career as a redshirt freshman at the Chip-N Club Invitational, when she closed in third place individually.

"Allison has played a major role on our team the last three seasons and we hope she can take her game up a notch this year," Krapfl said. "She has great leadership qualities, is a great teammate, and she is certainly one of the hardest workers on our team. She will help set the tone for our younger players."

White, Stevenson Give Huskers Strong Sophomore Class
Nebraska’s Kate White earned one of six spots on Golf World’s Midseason Freshman All-America team announced in November of 2006.

She won a tournament title at the Bronco Invitational and tied a Nebraska record with an opening-round 67. She posted four rounds below par, and proved herself as one of the Huskers’ most explosive players on the course.

"Kate had an outstanding freshman year, but I know that at the end of the season she wanted to do more to help the team," Krapfl said. "I think she learned a lot about herself and the game last year, and it will make her a more consistent player this year."

White was not the only freshman to make an impact on NU’s lineup last season. JC Stevenson, a native of Grand Island, Neb., filled a spot in Nebraska’s top five through most of the season.

"JC really did some good things for us throughout the year, and put together some big rounds to help us at times," Krapfl said. "Obviously, we will want her to improve her consistency this year, but that is a natural progression for a young golfer to make."

A third sophomore, Charlotte Wendner, also got a taste of college competition last year and will be looking to battle for a lineup spot this year.

Wendner, a native of Bjarred, Sweden, competed in eight rounds but did not play as a member of NU’s lineup. She did show some flashes of a strong game, firing a round of 75 during the season.

"Charlotte has the intangible of length and is just getting a firm grasp of the game," Krapfl said. "She has a lot of potential though, which gives us a lot of reasons to look forward to her future here at Nebraska."

Underclassmen Hope to Make Impact on Husker Lineup
A group of four freshmen, including a pair of redshirts and two true freshmen hope to challenge for spots in Nebraska’s starting five throughout the 2007-08 season.

A pair of redshirts will hope to get their first taste of college action this season. Rachel Hanigan and Sydney Sturdevant both opted for redshirt seasons last year to hone their games and make a smooth transition to NCAA Division I golf.

"Both Rachel and Sydney had solid redshirt years and I think they learned a lot," Krapfl said. "They will both be ready to make a push for the lineup, but even if they don’t earn spots they will be valuable contributors to our team because of their competitive nature."

Hanigan and Sturdevant are also both excellent students, earning spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll both semesters of 2006-07.

Along with the two redshirts, Nebraska’s freshman class will be bolstered by true freshmen Mary Kate Bird and Kayla Knopik.

Although Bird and Knopik will be the newest Huskers, they will both likely be right in the thick of the battle for spots in the Nebraska lineup.

Bird, joins the Huskers as one of the most impressive junior golfers in school history. The Kansas City, Mo., native was ranked No. 76 nationally in the Golfweek Class of 2007 Junior Rankings and was the 2006 Missouri state high school champion.

"I think in Mary Kate we are getting a great golfer who has the game to play at the highest level," Krapfl said. "She has excellent length off the tee, is a consistent ball-striker and has a great putting stroke. More importantly, she is a wonderful person and a good student. She is also a great team player."

Huskers Earn NGCA All-Scholar Team Award
Nebraska posted the fifth-highest team grade-point average of any squad in the nation to earn one of 25 NGCA All-Scholar Team honors from the National Golf Coaches Association in July.

Coach Robin Krapfl’s Huskers, who advanced to NCAA Regional play for the second straight season on the course, posted a 3.705 cumulative team GPA during the year. South Alabama, Illinois Wesleyan, Carleton College and the University of Indianapolis were the only other institutions across all divisions to post team GPA’s higher than Nebraska.

Allison Stewart (Vermillion, S.D.) earned a spot on the NGCA All-America Scholar Team after posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2007 spring semester, while true freshmen Kate White (Waukegan, Ill.) and JC Stevenson (Grand Island, Neb.) added spots on the All-America Scholar Team.

It was Stewart’s third consecutive scholastic All-America award from the NGCA, making her the 10th Husker in history to become a three-time NGCA Scholastic All-American.

With Stewart, White and Stevenson all earning spots on the team, it marked the fifth straight season that Nebraska has produced more than one NGCA Scholastic All-American.

To earn a spot on the All-American Scholar Team as an individual, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and compete in at least 50 percent of her team’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds.