Huskers Travel to Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic

The Nebraska women’s golf team heads to South Carolina for the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic, Feb. 22-24. The Huskers open play with 18 holes on the Cougar Point Course on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 7 a.m. (Central), before competing in Monday’s second round, which also starts at 7 a.m. The 54-hole tournament, which will also be played on the Oak Point Course in Kiawah Island, concludes with a final round beginning on Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. (Central).

Nebraska is the lone Big 12 Conference representative in the massive 43-team event hosted by the College of Charleston. Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament at Huskers.com, through a link provided by GolfStat.com.

The Huskers will try to build on a rollercoaster first weekend of spring competition. NU opened the spring strong with a stellar round of 299 at the Aztec Spring Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 15. However, torrential rain and winds interrupted the Huskers’ second round and NU’s team score ballooned to 332 on Monday. The Huskers rebounded with a final-round 316 on Tuesday to finish 12th in the 18-team tournament field.

Junior Charlotte Wendner, who will be playing at the top of NU’s lineup in South Carolina, finished in a tie for 21st in California to lead the Huskers.

Fellow junior JC Stevenson added a tie for 38th, while true freshman Natalie Gleadall managed a tie for 50th. Sophomore Mary Kate Bird closed the tournament in a tie for 60th, while fellow sophomore Rachel Hanigan rounded out NU’s lineup in 79th.

Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Host: College of Charleston
Location: Kiawah Island, S.C.
Courses: Cougar Point (6,009 Yards)
Oak Point (5,907 Yards)
Par 72
Sunday, 7 a.m. Tee Times
Monday, 7 a.m. Tee Times
Tuesday, 6:45 a.m. Shotgun

Nebraska Lineup

• Charlotte Wendner
• JC Stevenson
• Natalie Gleadall
• Mary Kate Bird
• Rachel Hanigan

Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic Field
College of Charleston, Miami, Mississippi State, Florida, Oregon State, Ole Miss, Central Florida, Oregon, Maryland, Nebraska, East Tennessee State, South Florida, Kentucky, Western Carolina, Texas State, Illinois State, Oral Roberts, Augusta State, UNC Wilmington, Middle Tennessee State, Ball State, Elon, Winthrop, Longwood, SMU, Cincinnati, Bradley, Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State, Missouri State, Toledo, Southern Illinois, Marshall, Richmond, Bucknell, William & Mary, The Citadel, Charleston Southern, Wofford, Old Dominion, Mercer, Kennesaw State, USC Upstate

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Huskers Head Into Spring Season without Kate White
The Nebraska women’s golf team suffered a significant loss this spring with the departure of junior Kate White from the team. White, a native of Waukegan, Ill., chose not to return to Nebraska for personal reasons following the semester break in January.

White, who had been a top performer on the course and in the classroom during her freshman, sophomore and first half of her junior season, tied JC Stevenson for a team-best 75.87 stroke average during the fall season.

White finished in the top 30 in all five fall events, including a tie for fourth at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational. She added a tie for fifth at the McHaney Morehead Invitational, after producing an eighth-place finish at NU’s Chip-N Club Invite with a season-best 222. She closed the fall campaign with a tie for 11th at The Challenge at Wolfdancer. In the classroom, she posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fifth consecutive semester.

White was a two-time NGCA Scholastic All-American at Nebraska and a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection in 2008.

Stevenson to Shoulder Load at Top of Husker Lineup
With the departure of junior Kate White, fellow junior JC Stevenson will be counted on as a top player in the Husker lineup. Stevenson, who matched White with a team-leading 75.87 stroke average during the fall campaign, has already proven herself as a capable leader for the Huskers.

A native of Grand Island, Neb., Stevenson capped a stellar sophomore season by tying for 14th at the NCAA Central Regional with the best regional tournament score in school history (220). She played in all 37 rounds for NU and posted the Huskers’ second-best stroke average on the season (77.73).

She continued her growth as a golfer with a trio of top-10 finishes this fall, including a fifth-place effort with a season-low 220 at the Chip-N Club Invitational. She added a tie for sixth with a 221 at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate and a tie for seventh with a 227 at the McHaney/Morehead Invitational.

Stevenson owns five career top-10 finishes and 14 career top-20 showings in her two-plus seasons at Nebraska. She is also a stellar performer in the classroom as a two-time NGCA Scholastic All-American and a first-team academic All-Big 12 pick in 2008. She is a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Wendner May Be Looked to Fill Void Left by White
Charlotte Wendner may play a major role in Nebraska’s fortunes during the spring season. The junior from Bjarred, Sweden, posted a pair of top-20 finishes during the fall season, including a tie for eighth with a season-best 222 at the Chip-N Club Invitational.

Wendner closed the fall with a strong showing by tying for 17th with a 231 at The Challenge at Wolfdancer in November. However, Wendner only played twice in NU’s lineup during the fall and will be counted on to improve her consistency this spring.

She opened the spring campaign by leading the Huskers with a tie for 21st at the 18-team Aztec Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif. (Feb. 15-17).

Last season, Wendner was a key player in Nebraska’s late-season surge. She took hold of NU’s final lineup spot in the spring after tying for second at the BYU Dixie Classic and came through with an 18th-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. Wendner was NU’s No. 2 finisher at the conference tournament and closed the year with a 79.56 stroke average that included a pair of top-five finishes.

Sophomores Bird, Hanigan Ready to Take Next Step
Sophomores Mary Kate Bird and Rachel Hanigan are expected to play significant roles in Nebraska’s success in 2008-09.

Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., got off to a strong start this season with a career-best effort at the Chip-N Club Invitational. Bird finished second with a career-best 215 that included rounds of 70, 72 and 73 at Wilderness Ridge.

She followed that performance with a tie for 14th at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, before adding a tie for 32nd at the McHaney/Morehead Invitational. After tying for 51st at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate, Bird missed NU’s final fall tournament because of a death in her family.

Bird closed the fall with a solid 76.92 stroke average, nearly three strokes better than her freshman season average of 79.87. Bird got her first taste of collegiate action as a true freshman in the Husker lineup. She competed in five tournaments, including lineup spots at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational and Central District Invitational. Her rookie campaign ended with a late-season illness that kept her out of the postseason.

Hanigan, a native of Dunlap, Iowa, made impressive gains during the offseason and she performed well during the fall for the Huskers. The sophomore posted three top-30 finishes, including a career-best tie for 18th with a 233 at the McHaney/Morehead Invitational. She added a tie for 28th playing as an individual at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, and notched a tie for 30th with a career-best 231 at the Chip-N Club Invite.

Hanigan earned a lineup spot for the Huskers in four of their five events and posted a 79.33 stroke average.

Gleadall’s Gains May Key Husker Spring Success
True freshman Natalie Gleadall made a significant impact to the Husker lineup in the first five events of her career during the fall season.

The native of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, earned a lineup spot in every event for the Huskers and posted four top-35 finishes. She opened her career with a tie for 22nd at the Chip-N Club Invitational that included a career-best tournament total of 229. She followed that impressive performance by tying for seventh with a 232 at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational.

Although she tied for 32nd at the McHaney/Morehead Invite, she showed progression in each round, and displayed that same improvement in tying for 27th at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate.

The biggest hitter among the Huskers, Gleadall will be hoping that continued improvements in her short game allow her to shave strokes off her solid 78.60 average during the fall.

Gleadall came to Nebraska with an impressive list of accomplishments that included advancing to the semifinals of the Women’s Western Golf Association National Championships in Indiana. She added a top-20 finish at the Royale Canadian Junior Championships and also competed in the Canadian Women’s Amateur. Gleadall also represented Ontario in the 2008 Doug Sanders International Junior Championships.

Huskers Open Fall Season with Chip-N Club Championship
Mary Kate Bird produced the best finish of her collegiate career with a one-under-par 215 to finish in second place individually, while powering Nebraska to the team title with a three-round total of 884 at the 2008 Chip-N Club Invitational at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course, Sept. 15-16.

Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., headed a contingent of five Husker individuals who finished in the top 10 at Nebraska’s season-opening tournament. Bird managed a final-round 73 to go along with an opening-round 70 and a second-round 72. The 215 marked Bird’s best tournament score of her career, while the second-place finish was also a career best.

Unfortunately for Bird, Arkansas-Little Rock’s Sara Wickstrom walked away with the individual title by birdeying the 18th hole to finish Tuesday’s final round with a one-under-par 71 to close the tournament at 214 with medalist honors.

"I can’t say enough about Mary Kate Bird," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She had to eagle her last hole in qualifying just to get into the starting lineup for the tournament. Then she played solid golf throughout the tournament. In the last round she played great and just came up one stroke short. But she played tough and had a great tournament."

Husker junior JC Stevenson closed the tournament with a final-round 71 to finish in fifth place at 220. Fellow juniors Kate White and Charlotte Wendner added eighth-place finishes at 222. White, playing on NU’s top team, matched Bird with a final-round 73, while Wendner produced the best round of the day by any golfer with a career-low, three-under-par 69 to add a 222 of her own. Wendner led the Nebraska "B" team to a sixth-place team finish in the 13-team field. The Huskers’ second unit closed the tournament with a solid score of 909.

Huskers Continue to Set the Pace in the Classroom
JC Stevenson, Kate White and Allison Stewart all captured NGCA Scholastic All-America honors for the Huskers at the conclusion of the 2007-08 campaign. The three awards pushed Nebraska’s nation-leading total to 50 all-time.

Stewart, who earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Nebraska in May of 2008, became just the second Husker in history to claim four NGCA Scholastic All-America awards, joining Jackie Beste (2003-06).

Stevenson, a junior on the 2008-09 Husker squad, is well on her way to matching Beste and Stewart in that category after winning her second award as a sophomores in 2008.

The academic success of the Nebraska women’s golf team is impressive up and down the lineup. In fact, all five returning letterwinners on the Husker roster own better than a 3.4 individual grade-point average.

Nebraska’s academic success is nothing new. In 2006-07, the Husker women’s golf team produced the fifth-best team grade-point-average of any collegiate women’s golf team in the nation.