Huskers in Hunt at Marilynn Smith Invite

Lawrence, Kan. - Madeleine Sheils fired a two-under-par 142 to take a four-shot lead in the individual standings while leading the Nebraska women's golf team to second in the team standings after the first day of the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Alvamar Country Club on Monday.

Sheils, a junior from Boise, Idaho, tied her career best with a two-under-par 70 in the second round to take control of the individual race on the 6,279-yard, par-72 layout at Alvamar. Sheils' 70 was the second-best round of the day by any golfer in the 12-team field, and matched the 70 she shot at the Northern Migration in Florence, Ariz., in March of 2010.

"Maddie just played really solid golf," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "She hit a ton of fairways and sank a lot of birdies, and it was great to see. She played with great confidence. She worked really hard after our first tournament, and she deserved to play great golf because of it. Hopefully she can put together another solid round tomorrow."

Freshman Steffi Neisen, who led the Huskers at the season-opening Chip-N Club Invitational, joined Sheils in the top six on the leaderboard. The New Prague, Minn., native fired rounds of 75 and 74 to finish the first 36 holes at 149, seven shots back of Sheils in a tie for sixth. Neisen is just three shots behind Kansas' Grace Thiry, who sits in second at 146.

Husker junior Kayla Knopik (Papillion, Neb.) managed back-to-back rounds of 78, to head into Tuesday's final round in a tie for 22nd at 156. Senior Mary Kate Bird (Kansas City, Mo.) added rounds of 78 and 79 to close the day at 157 in a tie for 27th.

"All of our players worked really hard over the past two weeks, and it was great to see it pay off on the course," Krapfl said. "We looked like a different team out there today than we did a couple weeks ago. It was very encouraging."

Nebraska led the field by three strokes after notching an opening-round 303 on Monday. Kansas State sat in a three-way tie for second at 306, while the hosts from Kansas managed a 313.

The Jayhawks scorched the course for a 290 in the second round to take over the top spot at 603, while Nebraska came back with a 301 - the third-best round by a team over the second 18 holes. The Huskers sit just one shot back of KU at 604 entering the final round.

Kansas State managed a 304 in the second round to sit six shots back of the Huskers in third place at 610. Oral Roberts and UALR are tied for fourth at 612, while Wichita State is in sixth at 622.

The Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational concludes with the final 18 holes on Tuesday beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
Alvamar Country Club (Lawrence, Kan.)
Par 72, 6,279 Yards
Monday, Sept. 27, 2010

Team Standings (Two Rounds)
1. Kansas - 313-290-603
2. Nebraska - 303-301-604
3. Kansas State - 306-304-610
4. Oral Roberts - 313-299-612
5. UALR - 306-306-612
6. Wichita State - 306-316-622
7. Illinois State - 316-310-626
8. South Florida - 318-312-630
9. UMKC - 318-322-640
10. Arkansas State - 332-311-643
11. Northern Iowa - 334-320-654
12. Creighton - 331-343-674

Individual Standings (Two Rounds)
1. Madeleine Sheils, Nebraska - 72-70-142
2. Grace Thiry, Kansas - 73-73-146
3. Emelie Westrup, UALR - 76-71-147
4. Ami Storey, Kansas State - 73-75-148
    Katy Nugent, Kansas - 76-69-148
6. Steffi Neisen, Nebraska - 75-74-149
    Amber Hensley, Oral Roberts - 75-74-149
8. Shena Yang, South Florida - 77-73-150
    Lauren Hassell, Wichita State - 73-77-150
    Adin Stromgren, Wichita State - 75-75-150

Nebraska Individuals (Two Rounds)
1. Madeleine Sheils - 72-70-142
T6. Steffi Neisen - 75-74-149
T22. Kayla Knopik - 78-78-156
T27. Mary Kate Bird - 78-79-157
T50. Remy Molyneux - 83-81-164*
T53. Katie Keiser - 81-85-166*
T60. Katelyn Wright - 88-82-170
*competing as individual outside Nebraska's lineup