Huskers Head to UNLV Spring Invite

The Nebraska women's golf team continues its 2011 spring campaign by traveling to the UNLV Spring Invitational, March 7-9.

The 16-team tournament at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev., opens with the first round on Monday, March 7. The Huskers will play 18 more holes on Tuesday, before concluding the tournament with the final round on Wednesday, March 9.

Senior Mary Kate Bird leads the Huskers to UNLV after a strong opening to the spring campaign. Bird, who missed NU's last three tournaments of the fall because of illness, fired a season-best 223 to finish in a tie for 10th in a 172-player field at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate, Feb. 20-22. Bird recorded consistent rounds of 75, 73 and 75 to lead Nebraska to a fifth-place finish in a 33-team field with a season-best three-round total of 910.

Junior Madeleine Sheils will play out of the No. 2 spot in the NU lineup behind Bird at UNLV. The native of Boise, Idaho, tied for 36th at Kiawah Island with solid rounds of 78, 75 and 76 to finish at 229.

Steffi Neisen shoots to continue her strong freshman campaign after tying for 46th (78-78-75-231) at Kiawah Island. Neisen owns NU's third-best stroke average on the season (77.06), trailing only Sheils' 76.12 and Bird's 76.63. The New Prague, Minn., native has been amazingly consistent as a rookie, competing in every round this season for NU while posting no round higher than an 81. She also owns a pair of top-15 tournament finishes.

Nebraska's double-K's, Kayla Knopik and Katie Keiser, round out the Huskers' top five in Nevada. Knopik, a junior from Papillion, and Keiser, a junior from Gothenburg, both opened the spring in the NU lineup in South Carolina. Knopik has been a consistent scorer in the Husker lineup throughout the season, posting a 77.88 stroke average while competing in every round in her fourth year in the program. Keiser, a transfer this year, will be making her fourth appearance in the NU lineup.

Nevada native Katelyn Wright rounds out the Nebraska contingent as an individual at UNLV. The freshman from Incline Village was a four-time Nevada High School state champion.

UNLV Spring Invitational
Location: Boulder City, Nev.
Course: Boulder Creek Golf Club
Par-72 / Yardage-6,246
Tee Times (All Times Central)
Monday, March 7 (18) - 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 8 (18) - 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 9 (18) - 9:30 a.m.

Nebraska Lineup
1. Mary Kate Bird
2. Madeleine Sheils
3. Steffi Neisen
4. Kayla Knopik
5. Katie Keiser

Nebraska Individuals
Katelyn Wright

UNLV Spring Invitational Field (16 Teams)

Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Bird Leads Huskers to Fifth-Place Finish at Kiawah Island
Mary Kate Bird notched her first top-10 finish of the season to lead Nebraska to a tie for fifth at the 33-team Kiawah Island Intercollegiate Feb. 20-22.

Nebraska received consistent scoring from each of its top four players to finish with a season-best 301 in the final round. The Huskers climbed into a tie for fifth by closing the 54-hole tournament with a season-best 910, which surpassed their previous top tournament score of 914 at the Alamo Invitational to close the fall season, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

"It is a really good way to start the spring," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "We kept improving each day and we kept climbing the leaderboard, which is encouraging. I think the best part about today's round was that when we made a mistake, we moved on and didn't let one mistake become two or three mistakes. That shows that we are learning from our mistakes and gaining some maturity."

Miami ran away with the team title with a three-round score of 888, nine strokes ahead of runner-up Campbell (897). Florida International took third at 901, while Western Carolina claimed fourth with a 903. Nebraska tied the College of Charleston and Akron in fifth at 910.

Bird, a senior from Kansas City, Mo., posted a final-round 75 to close the 54-hole tournament with a season-best 223 in a tie for 10th place in a 172-player field. Bird, who missed all but NU's first two tournaments of the fall season because of an illness, fired solid rounds of 75, 73 and 75 in the three-day tournament to open the spring campaign.

"It is great to have Mary Kate back in the lineup," Krapfl said. "She solidifies our lineup from top to bottom and takes a lot of pressure off the other golfers because you know she is almost always going to give you a solid score you can count on. She played some really solid golf throughout the tournament."

Junior Madeleine Sheils added a 76 to move up one spot and finish in a tie for 36th at 229 (78-75-76). Freshman Steffi Neisen made a major leap up the leaderboard over the final 18 holes. The New Prague, Minn., native used a final-round 75 to climb 15 spots to finish in a tie for 46th at 231 (78-78-75).

Junior Kayla Knopik accomplished Nebraska's biggest jump up the leaderboard in the final round, soaring 25 spots into a tie for 59th with a three-over-par 75 of her own to finish at 234 (76-83-75).

Junior Katie Keiser rounded out NU's top five with a third-round 81 to close in a tie for 93rd (83-76-81-240). Keiser matched Husker freshman Katelyn Wright, who posted a final-round 79 to close the tournament in a tie for 93rd (81-80-79) while playing as an individual outside of Nebraska's lineup.

Fellow freshman Remylee Molyneux did not compete in the final round after suffering a second-round injury.

Campbell's Sarah Bejgrowicz claimed individual medalist honors with a three-round total of 216. Daytona State's Mitsuki Katahira added a 216 of her own to tie for the top spot in the final standings.

Bird, Sheils Return to Lead New Look Huskers
Nebraska's lone senior Mary Kate Bird returned 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 75 rounds in the NU lineup and owns 12 career top-25 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the 2008 Chip-N Club Invite.

Bird is 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 continue her excellence in the classroom.

Knopik Continuing 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 season-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 has shown that her game continues to improve. She owns NU's No. 4 stroke average (77.88) this season.

Transfer Keiser Making Impact in Home State
Katie Keiser is making an 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 Huskers in the summer of 2010. She 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 in three tournaments for the Huskers this season, including the spring season opener at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate.

She closed the fall with the best tournament of her career at the Alamo Invite. Keiser erased 17 strokes off her previous career-best (247) with a three-round total of 230. She also fired a career-best 72 in the second round while tying for 38th.

Freshmen Plan to Lay Foundation for the Future
Steffi Neisen, a newcomer from New Prague, Minn., has made 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 in each of NU's fall tournaments and owns NU's No. 3 stroke average (77.06).

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 posted NU's top finish with a tie for 29th (76-79-155) at the Chip-N Club Invite, before tying for 15th (75-74-81-230) at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite. She settled for a tie for 64th (238) at the Johnie Imes Invitational, before rebounding for a tie for ninth with a career-best 223 at the Dale McNamara Invitational. She added a tie for 51st (233) at the Alamo Invite to close the fall, before opening the spring with a tie for 46th (231) at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate.

Fellow freshman Katelyn Wright came to Nebraska as one of the most accomplished prep golfers in Husker history. A four-time Nevada High School state champion, she was 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.

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

Wright fired 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. She also traveled to the Dale McNamara and Alamo invitationals as an individual. She tied for 32nd with a career-best 245 at the Alamo Invite.

A talented golfer out of California, Remylee Molyneux came 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.

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 competed as an individual at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, before making her first career start at the Johnie Imes Invitational. She was also in NU's top five at the Dale McNamara Invitational and the Alamo Invite.

Seven Huskers Earn Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll Spots
Seven members of the Nebraska women's golf team earned spots on the 2010 Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Honor Roll announced on Feb. 4.

Junior Madeleine Sheils posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. Former Husker Charlotte Wendner also registered a perfect 4.0 GPA as a business administration major. Senior Mary Kate Bird earned her sixth spot on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, while juniors Carolyn Schorgl and Kayla Knopik joined Sheils as five-time honorees.

In addition to the experienced Huskers on the list, freshmen Steffi Neisen and Katelyn Wright claimed their first spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Overall, Nebraska had 358 student-athletes across 23 varsity sports recognized by the Big 12 for the fall semester, including 43 student-athletes with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

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.