Huskers Head to Kansas State for Invitational

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s golf team hits the halfway point of its fall schedule when the Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kan., to compete in the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.

Nebraska is one of four Big 12 Conference teams, joining Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri, taking part in the 13-team invitational at the Colbert Hills Golf Course.

Coach Robin Krapfl’s Huskers will attack the 6,157-yard, par-72 layout at Colbert Hills for two rounds Monday beginning with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The Huskers will play their final 18 holes on Tuesday, again with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

Nebraska will feature one new member of the lineup this week after Krapfl opened up qualifying for the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational. Sophomore Charlotte Wendner, who has competed as an individual in NU’s first two tournaments, earned a lineup spot for the first time this season.

Wendner will join seniors Elli Brown and Allison Stewart and fellow sophomores Kate White and JC Stevenson in the Husker lineup at Kansas State. Redshirt freshman Sydney Sturdevant also earned a trip to Manhattan by qualifying sixth during the qualifying rounds and will be playing as an individual.

Huskers Take Sixth at Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Senior Elli Brown finished in a tie for 11th individually to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team a sixth-place team finish at the 18-team Ron Moore Intercollegiate on Sept. 18.

Brown, a native of Meridian, Idaho, completed her second round with an even-par 72 before managing a 76 in the final round to finish with a season-low score of 222 on the 6,518-yard layout at the Highlands Ranch Golf Course.

The hosts from the University of Denver, ranked among the top 25 teams nationally, stormed to the lead on Tuesday with a second-round total of 296 before producing a tournament-best final round of 288. Pioneer Stephanie Sherlock captured the individual crown with a three-under-par 213, that included an opening-round 69 and a pair of even-par rounds to close the tournament on Tuesday.

Nebraska finished at 907, 21 strokes behind Denver for the team crown, but just three strokes out of fifth place behind Tulsa (904). Baylor took runner-up honors at 895, while Iowa State surged to a third-place finish with a final-round 291 to close at 897. San Jose State finished one shot back of the Cyclones at 898.

Megan Place helped the Huskers to a top-six finish in the 18-team field by producing the best tournament of her career. The junior from Omaha put together a career-best three-round total of 226 to finish in a tie for 24th. It was the first top-25 finish of Place’s Husker career.

Senior Allison Stewart added a score of 229 over 54 holes to finish in a tie for 34th place, while sophomore JC Stevenson finished in a tie for 48th at 233, and Kate White finished in a tie for 50th, one stroke behind Stevenson. A third Husker sophomore, Charlotte Wendner, closed the tournament at 236 to finish in a tie for 64th to round out NU’s contingent in Colorado.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers showed improvement from their season-opening tournament at the Chip-N Club Invitational.

Huskers Open Season with Fourth-Place Finish at Chip-N Club
Nebraska opened its 2007-08 season with a fourth-place finish at its annual Chip-N Club Invitational Sept. 10-11. The Huskers played host to the tournament from Woodland Hills Golf Club in Eagle, Neb., for the first time and closed the 54-hole event with a three-round total of 911. Texas State (897) won the team title, while Kansas (902) finished second and Arkansas-Little Rock (906) took third.

Rain slowed the scoring during the tournament’s opening round and carried over into Monday afternoon’s second round, but the skies cleared and the scores fell as the 18-team field hit the halfway point of the tournament.

Nebraska made a charge up the leaderboard on Tuesday, producing the tournament’s best round with a 295. Senior Allison Stewart led the charge by tying her career-best with a one-under-par 70 on the 6,079-yard, par-71 layout at Woodland Hills. Stewart finished as NU’s top individual in the tournament with a career-best three-round total of 223, which was good for a tie for sixth.

Senior Elli Brown and sophomores JC Stevenson and Kate White joined Stewart in the top 20, as all three finished in a tie for 18th place at 230. Junior Megan Place rounded out Nebraska’s top-five in the tournament by tying her career-best 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 34th.

True freshman Mary Kate Bird and redshirt freshmen Rachel Hanigan and Sydney Sturdevant also made their first career collegiate appearances as Huskers.

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, began 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 four-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 senior 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 four-year starter from Meridian, Idaho, owns 12 career top-10 finishes as a Husker, including eight a year ago, while posting 21 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.

She got her senior season off to an impressive start by tying a career-best with a final-round 70 at the Chip-N Club Invitational on Sept. 11. She finished in a tie for sixth with a career-best 223 in the 100-player field.

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.

"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."

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. 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 scheduled competitve rounds.