Huskers Head to KU for Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invite

The Nebraska women's golf team continues its 2010 fall campaign at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Lawrence, Kan., Sept. 27-28.

The University of Kansas plays host to the 12-team tournament at Alvamar Country Club. A 6,242-yard, par-72 layout will challenge a trio of Big 12 teams, including Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State, along with familiar NU foes Creighton, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Wichita State, Arkansas State, UALR, UMKC and Oral Roberts. Big East foe South Florida rounds out the talented tournament field.

The two-day tournament tees off with 36 holes beginning with a shotgun start on Monday, Sept. 27, at 8:30 a.m. The final 18 holes begin on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 8:30 a.m.

Coach Robin Krapfl's young Husker lineup will be looking for improvement after opening the season with a 13th-place showing at the 15-team Chip-N Club Invitational, Sept. 13-14.

Nebraska's three true freshmen, Steffi Neisen, Katelyn Wright and Remylee Molyneux produced NU's top finishes at the tournament. Neisen will earn a lineup spot for the second straight tournament to open her career, while Wright will make her first appearance in NU's top five at KU. Molyneux just missed a lineup spot during qualifying and will travel as an individual to the tournament, along with newcomer Katie Keiser.

Senior Mary Kate Bird will look for a strong showing in her home state, while juniors Madeleine Sheils and Kayla Knopik will also look for improved performances in the Huskers' second fall event.

Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
Host: Kansas
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Course: Alvamar Country Club
Par/Yardage: 72/6,242
Tee Times
Monday, Sept. 27 (36) 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 28 (18) 8:30 a.m.

Nebraska Lineup
Mary Kate Bird, Steffi Neisen, Madeleine Sheils, Kayla Knopik, Katelyn Wright

Nebraska Individuals
Remylee Molyneux, Katie Keiser

Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Field (12 Teams)
Arkansas State, Creighton, Illinois State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Oral Roberts, South Florida, UALR, UMKC, Wichita State

Live Scoring: Not available

Freshmen Lead Huskers at Chip-N Club
Three Husker freshmen posted the top individual scores for the Nebraska women's golf team at the season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational in Lincoln, Sept. 13-14.

True freshman Steffi Neisen (New Prague, Minn.) led Nebraska's five-player lineup with a two-round total of 155 (76-79) to tie for 29th in the individual standings in the 87-player field.

She was joined by fellow true freshman Remy Molyneux (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), who played as an individual outside of NU's lineup, in a tie for 29th at 155 (79-76).

A third true freshman, Katelyn Wright (Incline Village, Nev.) tied for 36th (74-82-156) while playing as an individual outside of Nebraska's top five.

Nebraska's freshman class provided the highlights for the Huskers at their season-opening home tournament. As a team, the young Huskers settled for 13th in a 15-team tournament that was shortened to just 36 holes by severe storms in Lincoln on Sept. 13.

It marked the first time in the history of Nebraska women's golf (dating back to 1975) that the Huskers have had a home tournament cut short by weather.

The Huskers finished with a two-round total of 627 (314-313), 29 strokes behind the tournament champions from Arkansas State. ASU fired the tournament's best round with a 292 on Tuesday to vault from a tie for sixth after the opening round to claim the crown.

Arkansas State's 598 was one shot better than both Kansas (300-299-599) and Kansas State (299-300-599), which finished in a tie for second. Texas-San Antonio, which led the tournament after the first 18 holes, slipped to fourth at 604 (294-310). Texas State (305-312-617) rounded out the tournament's top five.

North Dakota State sophomore Amy Anderson captured the individual title for the second straight season, finishing with an even-par 144 (71-73) on the par-72, 6,238-yard layout at Wilderness Ridge. Kansas State's Paige Osterloo claimed runner-up honors with a one-over 145 (74-71), while Arkansas State's Anna Carling took third at 146 (72-74).

Nebraska's top returning golfers all settled for a tie for 48th individually. NU's lone senior, Mary Kate Bird, managed rounds of 81 and 77 to finish at 158. Juniors Madeleine Sheils (80-78), Kayla Knopik (79-79) and Carolyn Schorgl (78-80) also closed the tournament at 158.

Transfer Katie Keiser, a junior from Gothenburg, Neb., by way of Winthrop University, tied for 71st (79-83-154). 

Bird, Sheils Return to Lead New Look Huskers
Nebraska's lone senior Mary Kate Bird returns to lead a young and relatively inexperienced Husker women's golf team into the 2010-11 season.

Bird, a three-year letterwinner from Kansas City, Mo., has competed in 69 rounds in the NU lineup and owns 10 career top-25 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the 2008 Chip-N Club Invite.

Bird will be joined in a leadership role by junior Madeleine Sheils. Nebraska's top finisher at the 2010 Big 12 Championships, Sheils just missed All-Big 12 honors with her 11th-place showing. The Boise, Idaho, native's performance and confidence peaked at the end of a strong sophomore season.

Last year, Sheils competed in 31 rounds and posted a strong 76.35 stroke average, nearly seven strokes better than her rookie campaign in 2008-09. Her 76.35 represented the third-best stroke average by a sophomore in school history.

As a junior, Sheils will look for continued improvement on the course. The two-time NGCA Scholastic All-American will also plan to continue her excellence in the classroom.

Knopik Hopes to Continue Climb in 2010-11
Nebraska native Kayla Knopik enjoyed a breakout 2010 spring season that concluded with her tie for 39th at the Big 12 Championships.

The junior from Papillion, Neb., is in her fourth season in the Nebraska women's golf program in 2010-11, after earning a spot in NU's starting five late last spring.

Knopik, who has continued to improve each season at Nebraska, made the most of her opportunity last season by notching a 78.22 stroke average over 18 rounds. Her average represented a 4.61-stroke per round improvement over her redshirt freshman campaign in 2008-09, when she played just six rounds.

She produced a career-best tie for 14th at the 2010 BYU at Entrada Classic with a career-best three-round score of 230.

After a solid summer that included a fifth-place finish at the Nebraska State Stroke Play Championship and a third-place showing at the Eastern Stroke Play, Knopik is hoping her game continues to improve.

She was hampered by a thumb injury midway through the summer, which could affect her performance during the fall campaign. 

Schorgl Hoping for Breakout Season as JuniorJunior Carolyn Schorgl hopes to make an impact on the Nebraska lineup in her third season in the program in 2010-11. The Leawood, Kan., native has competed in 20 rounds in her first three years in the program.

Last year at the Chip-N Club Invitational, Schorgl fired a career-best 73 in the final round. At the 2008 Chip-N Club, she produced a career-best three-round total of 232, which was good for 33rd in her first collegiate event.

A solid performer in the classroom and the community, Schorgl is a four-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and a recipient of a 2010 Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award. 

Transfer Keiser Tries to Make Impact in Home State
Katie Keiser will try to make an immediate impact on Nebraska's lineup after transferring from Winthrop before the start of the 2010-11 season.

The Gothenburg, Neb., native spent her first two collegiate seasons at Winthrop University before joining the Husker program in the summer of 2010.

Keiser showed her abilities during the summer by finishing as the runner-up at the 2010 Nebraska State Stroke Play Championship on her home course in Gothenburg. Keiser (230) finished three shots back of former Husker JC Stevenson (227) in the 54-hole event. Current Husker teammate Kayla Knopik (239) added a fifth-place finish.

Keiser earned a lineup spot for the Huskers at the season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational and produced rounds of 79 and 83 in the rain-shortened event. 

Freshmen Plan to Lay Foundation for the Future
A talented three-player freshman class hopes to lay the foundation for future success in the Husker program.

Steffi Neisen, New Prague, Minn. (New Prague)
Steffi Neisen, a newcomer from New Prague, Minn., could make the quickest impact on the Husker program. A four-time top-seven finisher in the state of Minnesota's largest class of high school golf (AAA), Neisen earned a spot in Nebraska's top five during preseason qualifying for the Chip-N Club.

A six-year varsity player at New Prague High School, Neisen was a five-time Missota Conference Player of the Year (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), and a six-time all-conference selection.

Neisen earned a lineup spot at her first collegiate event, and posted NU's top finish by tying for 29th with a 155 (76-79) at the Chip-N Club Invitational. She earned another lineup spt at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite.

Katelyn Wright, Incline Village, Nev. (Incline)
Fellow freshman Katelyn Wright comes to Nebraska as one of the most accomplished prep golfers in Husker history. A four-time Nevada High School state champion, she is just the second player in Nevada history to accomplish that feat. As a senior, she won the title by 26 strokes with a two-under-par 142 over 36 holes. In 2008, she won the crown by 28 strokes.

Wright was also a four-time qualifier for the Callaway Junior World Championships and a three-time member and two-time captain of the Junior America's Cup team.

An outstanding all-around athlete, Wright was also a two-time state champion in track and field, and a first-team all-state basketball selection as a point guard on Incline High School's Class 2A team.

Off the fields of competition, Wright was the Incline High School Student Body President in 2009-10, after serving as the junior class vice president in 2008-09.

Wright is a second generation Husker golfer, following in the footsteps of her mother, Shelly (Godeken) Wright, who was a two-time All-Big Eight selection at NU in 1983 and 1984.

Wright produced NU's best round of the season with a 74 in the opening round of the Chip-N Club Invitational. She closed in a tie for 36th at her first collegiate event, playing outside of NU's lineup, before earning a lineup spot at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational.

Remylee Molyneux, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (Oaks Christian)
A talented golfer out of California, Remylee Molyneux comes to Nebraska after a successful high school and junior career. The 2009 Tri-Valley League Champion and 2008 Ventura County Junior Golfer of the Year at Oaks Christian High School, Molyneux has been a consistent winner over the past several seasons. In fact, she was the medalist at 11 high school tournaments in 2008.

Molyneux won medalist honors in 11 of 15 high school tournaments as a junior in 2008, including the Tri-Valley League crown. She also assisted in coaching the middle school girls golf program at Oaks Christian.

She was the 2008 Ventura County Junior Golfer of the Year, winning four consecutive VCJGA tournaments in the summer of 2008, including the Ventura County State Stroke Play Championship. She fired a career-best 71 to win the Thousand Oaks Open on July 8, 2008. She also won a 15-18 California Junior Tour event at Buenaventura at the age of 15.

Molyneux matched fellow freshman Steffi Neisen for NU's top finish at the season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational. Playing as an individual outside of Nebraska's lineup, Molyneux fired rounds of 79 and 76 to tie for 29th. She will travel as an individual to the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite.

Huskers Continue to Set the Pace in the Classroom
Three Huskers captured NGCA Scholastic All-America honors in 2010, pushing Nebraska's nation-leading total to 57 since 1989. JC Stevenson became the third Husker in history to be a four-time NGCA Scholastic All-American, while fellow 2010 senior Charlotte Wendner added the second NGCA honor of her career.

Sophomore Madeleine Sheils claimed the second NGCA Scholastic All-America award of her career, putting her on track to join Stevenson, Jackie Beste and Allison Stewart as a four-time award winner.