%20--%3e%3csvg%20version='1.1'%20id='Nebraska_N'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20x='0px'%20y='0px'%20viewBox='0%200%20163%20152'%20style='enable-background:new%200%200%20163%20152;'%20xml:space='preserve'%3e%3cstyle%20type='text/css'%3e%20.st0{fill:%23FFFFFF;}%20%3c/style%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M159.1,144c-2.3,0-4.1,1.8-4.1,4s1.8,4,4,4s4-1.8,4-4S161.2,144,159.1,144z%20M159,151.2c-1.8,0-3.2-1.4-3.2-3.2%20s1.4-3.2,3.2-3.2c1.7,0,3.2,1.5,3.2,3.2C162.2,149.8,160.8,151.2,159,151.2z'/%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M157.4,145.6h1.4c0.6,0,0.8,0,1.1,0.2c0.4,0.2,0.6,0.6,0.6,1.1c0,0.4-0.1,0.7-0.3,1c-0.1,0.2-0.3,0.2-0.6,0.4%20h-0.1l1.1,2.1h-0.8l-1-2h-0.6v2h-0.8L157.4,145.6L157.4,145.6z%20M158.6,147.7c0,0,0.3,0,0.4,0c0.4-0.1,0.6-0.3,0.6-0.8%20c0-0.3-0.1-0.5-0.4-0.6c-0.1,0-0.1,0-0.6,0h-0.4v1.4L158.6,147.7L158.6,147.7z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M147,0H93h-5v5v35v5h5h5v24.8L55.2,2.3L53.7,0H51H5H0v5v35v5h5h5v62H5H0v5v35v5h5h54h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V82.2%20l42.8,67.5l1.5,2.3h2.7h46h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V45h5h5v-5V5V0H147z%20M150,5v35v3h-3h-7v66h7h3v3v35v3h-3h-46h-1.6l-0.9-1.4L52,75.3%20V109h7h3v3v35v3h-3H5H2v-3v-35v-3h3h7V43H5H2v-3V5V2h3h46h1.7l0.9,1.4L100,76.7V43h-7h-3v-3V5V2h3h54h3V5z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M103,87L103,87L51,5H5v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0c0,3.3,0,68.7,0,72l0,0c-2.2,0-10,0-10,0v35h54v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0%20c0-2.6,0-47,0-47l52,82h46v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0c0-3.3,0-68.7,0-72c2.2,0,10,0,10,0V5H93v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0%20C103,42.6,103,87,103,87z'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
The Nebraska women's golf team travels to Norman, Okla., for the 2010 Big 12 Championships Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25.
The Huskers hit the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course on Friday at 8:50 a.m., opening with 18 holes on the 6,327-yard, par-72 layout. NU will also play single rounds on Saturday and Sunday in Norman.
JC Stevenson will lead the Huskers against a talented Big 12 Conference field. The senior from Grand Island, Neb., owns NU's top stroke average on the year (75.89) and is coming off a top-five finish at the SunTrust Gator Invitational, April 10-11. Stevenson owns 21 top 20 finishes in her career, including a tie for 20th at the 2009 Big 12 Championships.
Fellow senior Charlotte Wendner will take aim at her third straight top-20 showing at the Big 12 Tournament. Last season, the native of Bjarred, Sweden captured All-Big 12 honors by finishing in a tie for 10th in Lubbock, Texas.
Junior Mary Kate Bird will make her first career Big 12 Tournament appearance after missing the past two championships with illness and injury. Bird, a native of Kansas City, Mo., has been one of NU's top golfers each of the past three years and heads to Oklahoma with the team's No. 3 stroke average (76.54).
Sophomore Madeleine Sheils will be making her second straight Big 12 appearance after finishing 58th last season as Bird's replacement in the lineup. Sheils has been NU's most improved golfer this season, knocking nearly seven strokes off her 83.17 average over 18 rounds a year ago. Sheils enters Big 12 action ranked second on the team with a 76.50 stroke average in 2009-10.
Fellow sophomore Kayla Knopik rounds out the Huskers' Big 12 lineup. The Papillion native has also made major strides in her third year in the program. She will be making her fourth appearance of the spring in the NU lineup and owns a 78.20 stroke average on the year, an improvement of 4.63 strokes from a year ago.
Live scoring for the Big 12 Championships will be available at GolfStat.com.
Big 12 Championships
Host: Oklahoma
Location: Norman, Okla.
Course: Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club
Par/Yardage: 72 - 6,327
Tee Times:
Friday, April 23 (18) 8:50 a.m. (CT)
Saturday, April 24 (18) 8/8:50 a.m. (CT)
Sunday, April 25 (18) 8/8:50 a.m. (CT)
Nebraska Lineup
Big 12 Championships (12 Teams)
Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com
Stevenson Ties for Fifth in Florida
Senior JC Stevenson closed one of her best tournaments of the season with a final-round 72 to tie for fifth at the SunTrust Gator Invitational.
The Grand Island, Neb., native finished with a three-round total of 216 to lead the Huskers to a seventh-place team showing in a talent-laden 15-team field in Florida that included eight top-50 teams. Stevenson's six-over-par performance on the 6,002-yard, par-70 layout at the Mark Bostick Golf Course, helped the Huskers to a three-round team total of 902 (306-293-303).
Madeleine Sheils added a solid 74 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 27th at 226, while Mary Kate Bird closed in a tie for 36th at 230.
Kayla Knopik settled for 51st at 233 after a final-round 81, while Charlotte Wendner managed a tie for 61st at 237 that included a final-round 78.
No. 12 Michigan State claimed the team title at 868, while Chattanooga's Emma de Groot won medalist honors by defeating the Spartans' Laura Kueny in a playoff.
No. 24 Florida State finished second at 871, while the hosts from Florida settled for third at 879.
Huskers Own Six Top-Six Finishes in 2009-10
Nebraska has produced a pair of runner-up finishes and six top-six team showings heading into the 2010 Big 12 Championship.
The Huskers produced back-to-back top-five finishes in Utah and Airzona to close a busy March. NU played 54-hole events in four consecutive weeks of March to open the spring, before getting two weeks off between the BYU at Entrada Classic and the SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Before a third-place finish at BYU, the Huskers notched a solid fifth-place showing in a 19-team field at the Northern Migration in Florence, Ariz., March 15-17. The Huskers had finished eighth at the UNLV Invite the previous weekend, after opening the spring schedule at the UCF Challenge in Sorrento, Fla., on March 1.
Mary Kate Bird has been a leader for the Huskers this spring, producing three top-25 finishes, including a season-best tie for ninth in Utah. The junior from Kansas City, Mo., ranks third on the team with a 76.54 stroke average on the season.
JC Stevenson also came on strong late in the year, with three top-20 finishes in her last four events, including a tie for fifth in Florida. The senior from Grand Island, Neb., owns 21 career top-20 showings, including six this season. She also leads NU with a 75.89 stroke average on the year.
Sophomores Madeleine Sheils and Kayla Knopik emerged for the Huskers this spring, while freshman Erin Sharpee had an excellent fall but struggled at times during the spring. Senior Charlotte Wendner has produced four top-25 showings this season and owns a pair of top-20 finishes at the Big 12 Championships in her career.
Bird Flying High, Staying Healthy in 2009-10
Mary Kate Bird was Nebraska's leader during the 2009 spring campaign and was gaining momentum heading down the stretch until suffering a wrist injury in the first round of the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational on April 18.
As a sophomore, Bird produced three top-10 finishes in 2008-09, including a tie for ninth at the Mountain View Collegiate, March 28-29. Bird fired a three-round total of 217, after tying for eighth place (222) at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic, Feb. 22-24. She opened the year with the best finish of her career by taking second with a career-best 215 at the 2009 Chip-N Club Invitational, Sept. 15-16.
Bird finished with Nebraska's best stroke average (76.68) on the season, but was unable to compete at the 2009 Big 12 Championships because of the injury. It marked the second straight season that Bird missed the Big 12 Championships, after sitting out the conference tournament with the flu as a freshman.
However, she did earn academic All-Big 12 recognition at the end of the season and was named one of Nebraska's 30 student-athlete Hero Award winners in 2009.
Bird opened her junior season by tying for 12th with a 223 at the Chip-N Club Invitational, Sept. 14-15. Bird's tournament included a final-round 71. She added a tie for 34th (236) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate the following week.
Bird has again been a leader for the Huskers during the spring of 2010, notching three top-25 showings. Her 76.54 stroke average ranks third on the team, and in five spring events, she owns a 76.20 spring average.
Bird owns 10 career top-25 finishes, including five top-10 showings.
Senior Stevenson Solid at Top of Husker Lineup
JC Stevenson hopes to put the finishing touches on a solid Nebraska career as a senior in 2009-10. The Grand Island, Neb., native has competed in 133 rounds and owns a team-best 75.89 stroke average this season. The veteran of NU's lineup, Stevenson owns 21 career top-20 finishes, including seven career top-10 showings. She posted her best effort at the 2007 Edwin Watts/Palmetto Invitational, winning the tournament with a career-best 216, including two career-best rounds of 70.
She opened the 2009-10 season with a 220 over three rounds at the Chip-N Club Invitational, which included a pair of 72s in the second and third rounds. She added a tie for 18th (231) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, before adding another tie for 18th (227) at the Heather Farr Memorial. She settled for a tie for 28th in a single round at the Alamo Invitational (77).
Stevenson ended the regular season with a season-best tie for fifth with a career-best matching 216 (par 70) at the SunTrust Gator Invitational. She also tied for 14th at the BYU at Entrada Classic (230), and produced a tie for 20th (223) at the UNLV Spring Invitational. In 15 spring rounds, she carries a spring season best 76.13 stroke average. She is the only Husker this season to play all 28 competitive rounds in NU's five-player lineup.
A three-time NGCA Scholastic All-American and a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 performer, Stevenson tied for 20th at the 2009 Big 12 Championships. She is expected to contend for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors this season.
Wendner Captures All-Big 12 Championship Honors
Charlotte Wendner earned the first conference honors of her career by tying for 10th place at the 2009 Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, April 24-26. The top 10 finishers earned spots on the All-Big 12 Championship Team. She capped her junior season with rounds of 75, 73 and 84 to finish at 232 on the par-73, 6,564-yard layout of the Rawls Course. Wendner headed into the final round of the tournament in a tie for third place at 148.
It was Wendner's second straight top-20 finish at the Big 12 Championships, after taking 18th place at Oklahoma State in 2008. In her career, Wendner owns 11 top-25 finishes, including four top-10 efforts.
Wendner has produced a 77.48 stroke average this season, and has registered four top-25 finishes on the season. In addition to her honors on the course, Wendner also captured first-team academic All-Big 12 accolades for the second consecutive season and was a 2009 NGCA Scholastic All-American.
Sheils Produced Breakout Fall Season for Huskers
Madeleine Sheils produced a breakout performance in the season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational and continued to improve throughout the fall for the Huskers.
The sophomore from Boise, Idaho, posted her first career top-25 finish, tying for 15th with a 224 (73-73-78). Her effort included a pair of rounds of 73 on Sept. 14. The 224 was 15 strokes better than her previous collegiate best of 239.
Sheils earned a spot in the NU lineup at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate and managed a 237. She tied for 64th with a 239 at the Heather Farr Memorial, Oct. 5-6, and earned a lineup spot for the Alamo Invitational. She posted her first career top-10 finish in San Antonio, tying her then-career best with a 73 in the tournament's lone round to tie for 10th.
She closed the fall with a career-best 218 that included a final-round 71 on a par 70 layout at The Challenge at Onion Creek, Nov. 2-3. She finished in a tie for 32nd in Texas and improved her fall stroke average to 76.23, which was nearly seven shots better than her freshman season average (83.17).
Sheils has continued to play solid golf for the Huskers during the spring, including a tie for seventh at the Northern Migration in Florence, Ariz. with a career-best 223. It included a career-best 70 in the final round. In 15 spring rounds, Sheils owns a 76.73 stroke average, while her overall 76.50 stroke average ranks second among the Huskers in 2009-10.
Sheils entered 2009-10 with Big 12 Tournament experience under her belt. As a true freshman, Sheils competed in 18 rounds, including the Big 12 Championships after Mary Kate Bird suffered a wrist injury at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
Sheils gave the Huskers a lift with an opening-round 79 in Lubbock, Texas, before settling for 58th place (253) in her first Big 12 Tournament. Off the course, Sheils showed her ability by earning NGCA Scholastic All-America honors.
Freshman Sharpee Makes Instant Impact
Erin Sharpee made an impressive debut for the Huskers in the fall. The true freshman from Green Bay, Wis., posted a pair of top-15 finishes, and threatened the school record for best round in just her second appearance in the NU lineup at the Heather Farr Memorial on Oct. 6.
Sharpee tied for 11th (225) in the 104-player field at the Heather Farr Memorial, including a final-round 68, which was just one stroke off the school record of 67.
She opened her collegiate career by tying for 15th (224) while playing as an individual at Nebraska's Chip-N Club Invite. After opening with an 80, Sharpee fired back-to-back rounds of 72. Her effort at Wilderness Ridge earned her a spot in NU's lineup at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, Sept. 21-23. She produced a three-round total of 236 to tie teammate Mary Kate Bird in 34th place.
Sharpee closed the fall with a career-best 219 (72-73-74) on a par 70 layout at The Challenge at Onion Creek, Nov. 2-3, to tie for 42nd in a 21-team field. She improved her stroke average to 75.46, which ranked third among the Huskers.
Huskers Continue to Set the Pace in the Classroom
Four Huskers captured NGCA Scholastic All-America honors in 2009, pushing Nebraska's nation-leading total to 54 since 1989. JC Stevenson earned the third NGCA Scholastic All-America honor of her career, while Charlotte Wendner, Rachel Hanigan and Madeleine Sheils all claimed the honor for the first time in their careers.
In addition to Nebraska's NGCA Scholastic All-America success, five Huskers earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2009. Stevenson, Wendner, Hanigan, Mary Kate Bird and Megan Place all claimed spots on Big 12's top academic team. Stevenson, Wendner and Place all earned first-team honors for the second time in their careers, while Hanigan and Bird were first-time honorees.