Huskers Head West to UNLV Spring Invitational

The Nebraska women’s golf team returns to action next week when the Huskers head to the UNLV Spring Invitational for a three-day event beginning on Monday, March 9, in Boulder City, Nev.

The Huskers will compete in an 18-team field on the 6,234-yard, par-72 layout at the Boulder Creek Golf Club.

The 54-hole tournament begins with tee times off 1 and 10 starting at 8:30 a.m. Central time on Monday. The tournament will follow the same schedule on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 18 holes being played each day.

The tournament field features a Pac-10 flavor with Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State in the mix, while three Big 12 teams (Nebraska, Missouri, Texas Tech) also fill the field.

Nebraska is coming off a 17th-place finish in a 43-team field at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic in South Carolina, Feb. 22-24.

Sophomore Mary Kate Bird battled for the tournament title in South Carolina with three solid rounds before settling for an eighth-place finish among the 215 individuals in the event. Bird’s three-round total of 222 (72-74-76) led the Huskers, while juniors Charlotte Wendner (tie-81st, 237) and JC Stevenson (tie-87th, 238) also played steady for NU.

Freshman Natalie Gleadall continued to contribue, posting Nebraska’s best score of the final round with a 75 to finish in a tie for 103rd at 240.

In addition to those four golfers playing out of the top four spots in the NU lineup at UNLV, freshman Maddie Sheils will compete in her first career tournament as one of the Huskers’ top five. Sheils has competed in four events as an individual this season and owns an 81.00 stroke average.

Live scoring for the UNLV Spring Invitational will be available at Huskers.com through a link from GolfStat.com.

UNLV Spring Invitational
Host: UNLV
Location: Boulder City, Nev.
Courses: Boulder Creek Golf Club
Par/Yardage: 72/6,234
Monday, 8:30 a.m. - Tee Times
Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. - Tee Times
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. - Tee Times

Nebraska Lineup
Mary Kate Bird
Charlotte Wendner
JC Stevenson
Natalie Gleadall
Maddie Sheils

UNLV Spring Invitational
BYU, Campbell, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kent State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Oregon State, SMU, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Washington, Washington State, UNLV

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Bird Ties for Eighth at Kiawah Island Classic
Mary Kate Bird closed the final round with a four-over-par 76 to finish at 222 in a tie for eighth place in a 215-player field at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic. Bird finished four strokes behind tournament co-champions Nicole Forshner (Central Arkansas) and Sinead O’Sullivan (East Tennessee State), while helping Nebraska to a 17th-place finish in the 43-team field.

The Huskers closed the tournament with their best round (305) to end the 54-hole event at 928. In the largest field in collegiate golf this season, Nebraska finished just four strokes out of the top 10 in the final team standings.

Bird, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., produced the fourth top-15 finish of her career and third of 2008-09.

"Mary Kate had a fantastic tournament and I’m really proud of her for playing three really solid rounds of golf," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "As a team, we played a little bit better and that was encouraging. I think we’re headed in the right direction."

True freshman Natalie Gleadall notched Nebraska’s top round of the final day with a three-over-par 75, while junior Charlotte Wendner added a 76 to help the Huskers. Junior JC Stevenson added a 78, as all three of those golfers produced their top rounds of the tournament. Wendner finished in a tie for 81st (237), while Stevenson managed a tie for 87th (238). Gleadall closed in a tie for 103rd (240).

Miami and Central Arkansas tied for the team title at 904. Forshner and O’Sullivan shared the individual title by firing matching final rounds of one-under-par 71 to finish at 218.

Huskers Competing Without Kate White During Spring
Nebraska 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 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 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 NU’s fortunes this spring. The junior from Bjarred, Sweden, posted a pair of top-20 finishes this fall, including a tie for eighth with a season-best 222 at the Chip-N Club Invitational.

Wendner closed the fall strong 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 have played 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.

Gleadall’s Gains May Key Husker Spring Success
True freshman Natalie Gleadall has made a significant impact to the Husker lineup in the first seven events of her career at Nebraska.

The native of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, has earned a lineup spot in every event this season with 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.

Gleadall came to Nebraska with impressive credentials 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.

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 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 Huskers 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.