Huskers Tied for Third at Lady Pirate

Greenville, N.C. - The Nebraska women's golf team produced solid opening-round scores to close the first 18 holes in a tie for third with a 305 at the 20-team Lady Pirate Intercollegiate on Sunday.

Kate White, JC Stevenson and Mary Kate Bird each fired five-over-par scores of 76 in the first round of the three-day event on the 5,939-yard, par-71 at the Greenville Country Club.

White, a junior from Waukegan, Ill., has finished among the top 10 individuals in each of Nebraska's first three fall tournaments and is well within striking distance of making it four in a row. She enters Monday's second round in a tie for 14th with Stevenson and Bird. Stevenson, a junior from Grand Island, Neb., owns three top-15 finishes so far this season and could make it four in a row with solid second and third rounds in North Carolina.

Sophomore Rachel Hanigan, playing in her second straight tournament in Nebraska's top five, added an opening-round 77 to sit in a tie for 20th. True freshman Natalie Gleadall rounded out NU's contingent at the Lady Pirate with a 79 to enter Monday's second round in a tie for 42nd among the 102 golfers in the tournament. 

Georgia State enters Monday's second round in first place at 299, while the hosts from East Carolina are four shots back at 303. Nebraska is tied with Georgetown at 305, six strokes behind the leaders. Miami is three shots behind the Huskers and Hoyas at 308.

Florida International's Belen Buendia sits atop the individual leaderboard after an opening-round 72, four shots ahead of White, Stevenson and Bird. East Carolina's Abby Bools, Georgetown's Carly Hunt and Western Carolina's Blaire Minter are tied for second at 73, while five golfers are tied for fifth with three-over-par scores of 74.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers finished strong in the first round after overcoming cool and windy conditions to start the day. The Huskers were among the first teams to tee off on Sunday, and it took the team some time to warm up to the unfamiliar Greenville Country Club course.

However, once they got rolling, the Huskers made up some ground on the leaderboard down the stretch. Nebraska played the final three holes at a collective five-under-par, while White, Stevenson, Bird and Hanigan all notched birdies on 18 to close the round.

"I was proud of how we finished. We played the last hole at four under, and I think we will take some momentum into tomorrow," Krapfl said. "Today was spent getting comfortable on the Bermuda grass, and tomorrow I think we are going to get after it from the get-go. I have high expectations of this group. I feel like we need to do a better job of getting off to a quick start. We are getting better every week. We are developing and gaining confidence and eliminating mistakes, so we are definitely getting better day-to-day and week-to-week."

The Huskers will be one of the last groups to tee off on Monday, after the rest of the teams tee off for 18 holes beginning at 7 a.m. central time. Live scoring of the tournament is available on Huskers.com through GolfStat.com.

Lady Pirate Intercollegiate
Greenville, N.C. (Host: East Carolina)
Greenville Country Club
Par 71, 5,939 Yards
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008

Team Standings (After One Round)
1. Georgia State - 299
2. East Carolina - 303
T3. Nebraska - 305
T3. Georgetown - 305
5. Miami - 308
6. William & Mary - 310
7. Richmond - 312
T8. East Tennessee State - 314
T8 - Florida International - 314
T8. Gardner-Webb - 314
11. Western Carolina - 315
12. UTEP - 316
T13. Elon - 319
T13. James Madison - 319
15. Winthrop - 321
16. Xavier - 322
17. Maryland - 327
18. Old Dominion - 333
19. High Point - 339
20. Presbyterian College - 367

Individual Leaderboard (After One Round)
1. Belen Buendia, Florida International - 72
T2. Abby Bools, East Carolina - 73
T2. Carly Hunt, Georgetown - 73
T2. Blaire Minter, Western Carolina - 73
T5. Jennifer Hirano, Miami - 74
T5. Cathrine Madsen , Georgia State - 74
T5. Sandra Maier, Georgia State - 74
T5. Maria Ronderos, Miami - 74
T5. Morgan Stepanek, William & Mary - 74
T6. Christina Gray, Richmond - 74

Nebraska Individuals
T14. Kate White - 76
T14. JC Stevenson - 76
T14. Mary Kate Bird - 76
T20. Rachel Hanigan - 77
T42. Natalie Gleadall - 79