Huskers Added to Trophy Case in 2009-10

The Nebraska men's golf team just missed out on a return to an NCAA Regional in 2009-10, but that didn't diminish the impressive resume the Huskers built during the season. The Huskers threatened some decade-old school records en route to one of the best seasons in school history.

In addition, senior Brandon Crick put the exclamation point on one of the best Husker careers in school history by earning an individual bid to play in the NCAA Tournament at the West Regional. Following a summer in which Crick won the Nebraska Men's Amateur and made the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, Crick elevated his collegiate game, earning two first-place finishes and posting seven rounds in the 60s as part of his team-best 19 subpar rounds.

Following a 2008-09 season that saw the Huskers finish in the top five twice, the Big Red achieved that feat seven times in 2009-10. NU captured two tournament titles, earned two runner-up finishes and posted a 292.41 stroke average - just shy of the school record 291.20 stroke average set by the 1998-99 team that finished 14th at the NCAA Championships.

Fall Season
NU opened its second straight season by hosting the Fairway Club Invitational at ArborLinks Golf Club in Nebraska City. The Huskers battled to a nine-under-par 855, but fell three strokes short of Drake for the team title. Although NU was unable to capitalize on its local advantage, the 855 mark represented its lowest team score in more than two years and set the tone for low scores throughout the season. Junior Andrew Wyatt and sophomore Scott Willman finished fourth and seventh, respectively. Junior Mike Coatman tied for eighth and freshman Neil Dufford tied for 10th in his first collegiate tournament, as four Huskers finished in the top 10 for the first time in at least 12 years.

At the following Kansas Invitational the Big Red finished sixth, thanks to 10th-place finishes from Coatman and Wyatt. Head Coach Bill Spangler rolled out a lineup that he would use in every tournament for the rest of the season in Crick, Wyatt, Coatman, Willman and junior transfer Brett Nymeyer. The Huskers desperately needed Crick, who had tied for 14th and 22nd to open the season (fifth and third in the NU lineup), to step up and take charge for NU. Crick did just that, finishing tops for NU in five of the next 10 tournaments - all top-five overall finishes.

Crick began his strong play with a tie for fifth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, where the Huskers tied for third as a team. Crick then helped the Huskers with a sixth-place performance at the UMKC Bill Ross Intercollegiate, but it was Willman who posted a career-best tie for second to lead NU to second place, five strokes behind Central Arkansas, as the Huskers again got close to a tournament title but couldn't finish the deal. Coatman contributed a ninth-place finish for his third top-10 standing of the fall.

The Huskers then travelled southwest for the final tournament of the fall, as they tackled the New Mexico State University Golf Course at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Led by Crick's career-best 206 (T-4th) and Willman's career-best 211 (T-19th), the Huskers scored a season-best 853 and were separated from a top-five finish by just one stroke.

Spring Season
NU opened the spring with a fifth-place finish at the Rice Intercollegiate in Houston, Texas. Crick led the Big Red with a tie for third, his fourth straight top-10 finish.

Wyatt finished in a career-best tie for second at the following South Florida Invitational, as NU tied for sixth overall. Wyatt recorded a career-best, seven-under-par 209 to lead the Huskers, who scored a five-over-par 869 as a team.

The Huskers then kicked off the final month of the season with a victory at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm, Nev. Crick captured his fourth collegiate individual title and Nymeyer, Coatman and Willman added top-10 finishes, as NU earned its first tournament title in four years with an 860 (-4) team score.

NU reeled off top-six finishes at the 2010 Desert Shootout and Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic before capturing its second team title of the spring at the Mizzou Intercollegiate to cap the regular season. At the Desert Shootout, Wyatt tied for fifth and Crick finished 10th, while the Huskers finished sixth overall. Nymeyer led NU at the Shocker Classic with a tie for eighth, his second top-10 finish in three tournaments, and NU tied for fifth.

But Nebraska put together its best all-around tournament of the year at the season-ending Mizzou Intercollegiate in Columbia, Mo. Crick tied for first and Wyatt tied for ninth, and the Huskers held on for a one-stroke victory over Kansas State. Although Crick lost on the fourth playoff hole, his tie for first gave him five top-five finishes on the season. The Huskers got solid play up and down the lineup, as all five Huskers finished in the top 23 of the 83-player field.

Heading into the Big 12 Championship with a wave of confidence, NU competed well early on, hanging around the top four through much of the first round. A third-round 304 put a damper on the Huskers' chances, but NU still battled to a 295 on the final day to finish in a tie for seventh, the best finish for the Big Red since a 2007 sixth-place finish.

Despite earning two tournament wins, two tournament runner-ups, a No. 79 ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings and a No. 82 ranking in the Golfstat poll, the Huskers as a team were left out of the 81-team NCAA Tournament field. However, Crick earned the No. 3 individual seed in the West Regional and competed May 20-22 at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash, where he tied for eighth and fell four strokes shy of earning a bid to the NCAA Championship.