White, Huskers in Third at Kansas

Lawrence, Kan. - Kate White fired rounds of 73 and 78 to sit in third place, while helping the Nebraska women's golf team close the first 36 holes in third place after the opening day of the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Alvamar Golf Course.

White, a junior from Waukegan, Ill., ended the second round at 151, just two strokes off the pace set by Kansas individual Jennifer Clark (149). Eve Santillan of Oral Roberts enters Tuesday's final round in second at 150.

White closed the first 18 holes on Monday atop the leaderboard after putting up a 73 in the opening round, one shot ahead of Clark's 74 on the 6,242-yard, par-72 layout at Alvamar.

"Kate played solid in the first round," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She was also playing pretty well in the second round but got in some trouble late in the round and had to settle for a 78. She is in a good position to make a run tomorrow."

With White leading the charge, the Huskers produced rounds of 307 and 312 to close the first 36 holes at 619. NU is just four shots back of the tournament leaders from Oral Roberts (307-308-615) and just two shots behind second-place Illinois State (302-315-617). Nebraska is seven shots ahead of the hosts from Kansas (318-308-626), which head into Tuesday's final round in fourth place.

Krapfl said the Huskers were still in the hunt for the team title despite a lackluster performance on the greens.

"Frankly, we did not play well today, and we putted horribly," Krapfl said. "The good news is that we're still in position to win the tournament despite leaving a bunch of shots out on the course today. Hopefully we can come back and put up a good number tomorrow and win the tournament."

White was joined in the individual top 10 by Husker teammate Natalie Gleadall. The true freshman from Stratford, Ontario, managed rounds of 75 and 78 to close the day in a tie for sixth at 153.

Mary Kate Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., who was coming off a second-place finish at Nebraska's Chip-N Club Invitational last week, overcame an opening-round 80 to fire a 77 in the second round and close the day in a tie for 15th at 157.

Junior JC Stevenson also bounced back from an opening-round 82 to manage a second-round 79 to close the day in a tie for 40th at 161. Fellow junior Charlotte Wendner rounded out NU's top five with rounds of 79 and 83 to enter the final round in a tie for 47th at 162.

In addition to the efforts from the Huskers' top unit, the Nebraska "B" team ended the first 36 holes in seventh place among the 16-team field.

Carolyn Schorgl, a true freshman from Leawood, Kan., heads into the final round in a tie with Bird for 15th place at 157. Schorgl fired NU's top score of the second round with a 76.

Husker senior Megan Place added NU's second-best score of the second round with her 77 to jump into a tie for 35th on the leaderboard with Nebraska true freshman Maddie Sheils, who managed rounds of 81 and 79 to finish at 160 on Monday.

Sophomore Rachel Hanigan added rounds of 81 and 80 to enter Tuesday's final round in a tie with Stevenson in 40th place. Overall, NU's No. 2 squad matched the Huskers' top five with a second-round total of 312, after struffling with a 326 in the first round.

Nebraska will complete the final 18 holes at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational on Tuesday, beginning with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.

Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
Lawrence, Kan.
Team Results (Through Two Rounds)
Monday, Sept. 22, 2008
Alvamar Golf Course
Par 72, 6,242 Yards

1. Oral Roberts - 307-308-615
2. Illinois State - 302-315-617
3. Nebraska - 307-312-619
4. Kansas - 318-308-626
5. South Florida - 318-310-628
6. Oklahoma City U. - 317-315-632
7. Nebraska (B) - 326-312-638
8. Kansas State - 318-321-639
9. Wichita State - 318-323-641
10. UMKC - 318-327-645
11. Coastal Carolina - 324-324-648
12. North Texas - 322-327-649
13. Northern Iowa - 325-330-655
14. Creighton - 328-331-659
15. Kennesaw State - 328-333-661
16. Redlands CC - 333-336-669

Individual Leaderboard
1. Jennifer Clark, Kansas - 74-75-149
2. Eve Santillan, Oral Roberts - 77-73-150
3. Kate White, Nebraska - 73-78-151
T4. Emily Powers, Kansas - 77-75-152
T4. Britt Knutson, Illinois State - 77-75-152
T6. Natalie Gleadall, Nebraska - 75-78-153
T6. Krista Hrdlicka, Wichita State - 75-78-153
T6. Ana Joaquina Lopez, South Florida - 78-75-153
9. Christy Carter, Oral Roberts - 76-78-154
T10. Stacey Miller, Illinois State - 75-80-155
T10. Amber Mensley, Oral Roberts - 76-79-155

Nebraska Individuals
3. Kate White - 73-78-151
T6. Natalie Gleadall - 75-78-153
T15. Mary Kate Bird - 80-77-157
T15. Carolyn Schorgl (B) - 81-76-157
T35. Megan Place (B) - 83-77-160
T35. Maddie Sheils (B) - 81-79-160
T40. JC Stevenson - 82-79-161
T40. Rachel Hanigan (B) - 81-80-161
T47. Charlotte Wendner - 79-83-162
88. Kayla Knopik (B) - 87-89-176