Bird Flying High in South Carolina

Kiawah Island, S.C. - Mary Kate Bird closed the first round of the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic in a tie for second place in a 215-player field to help the Huskers to a tie for eighth in the 43-team tournament in South Carolina on Sunday. Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., trails Central Florida's Stephanie Connelly by two strokes heading into Monday's second round.

 

With Bird leading the charge, Nebraska closed the opening day of the three-day event among the top 10 teams in the largest tournament in collegiate golf this season. The Huskers finished the first 18 holes on the Cougar Point Golf Course (Par 72, 6,009 yards) with a 309, nine strokes off the pace set by the University of Miami and East Tennessee State, which lead the tournament with first-round scores of 300.

 

Fellow Husker sophomore Rachel Hanigan added NU's second-best round of the day with a four-over-par 76 to sit in a tie for 26th place heading into Monday's second round, which will shift to the Oak Point Golf Club (Par 72, 5,907 yards) for the Huskers. NU junior JC Stevenson managed an 80 to close the day in a tie for 84th, while fellow junior Charlotte Wendner settled for an 81 to sit in a tie for 103rd. Freshman Natalie Gleadall rounded out the Husker contingent with an 85.

 

Monday's second round begins at 7 a.m. (Central) with live scoring available on Huskers.com through a link provided by GolfStat.com.

 

Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Oak Point Golf Club (Oak Point/Cougar Point)
Feb. 22-24

 

Team Standings (First Round)

T1. Miami - 300  

T1. East Tennessee State - 300  

3. Oral Roberts - 303  

4. Mississippi - 305  

T5. Western Carolina - 306  

T5. Central Florida - 306  

7. College of Charleston - 307  

T8. Florida - 309  

T8. Nebraska - 309  

T10. Central Arkansas - 310  

T10. Oregon - 310  

T12. Middle Tennessee State - 311  

T12. Mississippi State - 311  

T12. UNC Wilmington - 311  

15. Kentucky - 312  

16. Maryland - 313  

T17. South Florida - 314  

T17. Jacksonville State - 314  

19. Augusta State - 315  

20. Longwood - 316  

21. William & Mary - 318  

T22. Toledo - 319  

T22. Oregon State - 319  

T24. Illinois State - 320  

T24. Texas State - 320  

26. Charleston Southern - 322  

27. Bucknell - 325  

28. Ball State - 326  

T29. Elon - 328  

T29. Old Dominion - 328  

31. Winthrop - 329  

32. Richmond - 330  

33. Kennesaw State - 331  

34. SMU - 333  

T35. Cincinnati - 334  

T35. South Carolina Upstate - 334  

T35. Missouri State - 334  

38. Marshall University - 339  

39. Southern Illinois - 341  

40. Bradley - 344  

41. Wofford - 347  

42. Mercer - 350  

43. The Citadel - 352  

 

Individual Leaderboard (First Round)

1. Stephanie Connelly (Central Florida) - 70

T2. Mary Kate Bird (Nebraska) - 72
T2. Sofia Hagsund (UNC Wilmington) - 72
T2. Begona Sarabia (Miami) - 72

T5. Elisa Aoki (Central Florida) - 73
T5. Christy Carter (Oral Roberts) - 73
T5. Dori Carter (Mississippi) - 73
T5. Jessica Hollandsworth (Maryland) - 73
T5. Steffi Kirchmayr (College of Charleston) - 73

T5. Nia Muehl (East Tennessee State) - 73
T5. Jessica Yadloczky (Florida) - 73

 

Nebraska Individuals
T2. Mary Kate Bird - 72
T26. Rachel Hanigan - 76
T84. JC Stevenson - 80
T103. Charlotte Wendner - 81
T151. Natalie Gleadall - 85