Lincoln, Neb. - Kayla Knopik, Steffi Neisen and Madeleine Sheils all produced top-10 individual finishes, as the Nebraska women's golf team finished fourth in a hotly contested Chip-N Club Invitational at the Country Club of Lincoln on Tuesday.
Knopik, a senior from Papillion, Neb., fired a three-over-par 75 to tie for sixth and produced the first top-10 finish of her collegiate career. Knopik's three-round total of 227 (75-77-75) also matched her career best, which she set last season at the UNLV Spring Invitational. Knopik's previous best tournament finish came at the 2010 BYU Entrada Classic, when she tied for 14th.
Neisen, a sophomore from New Prague, Minn., added the best tournament finish of her young career by tying Knopik for sixth at 227. Neisen, who entered the final round in a third place after firing a tournament-best 71 on the Country Club's 6,186-yard, par-72 layout in the second round, settled for a final-round 78 Tuesday.
Senior Madeleine Sheils matched Knopik for the Huskers' best round of the day with a 75 to move up two spots on the leaderboard to finish in 10th place. The Boise, Idaho, native finished at 229 (77-77-75).
Sophomore Katelyn Wright provided Nebraska's fourth score in the final round with a 79. The Incline Village, Nev., native closed the tournament in a tie for 38th at 243.
Sheils, Knopik and Neisen helped the Huskers challenge for the top spot in the team standings midway through the final round on Tuesday. NU entered the final round six strokes back of junior college national power Redlands CC, five shots back of SMU and three strokes behind Iowa. The Huskers pushed well ahead of the Hawkeyes and briefly pulled even with the Mustangs and Redlands CC, before settling for third place in the final standings.
SMU captured the team title with a 54-hole total of 920, including a final-round 306. The Mustangs' Felicia Espericueta captured medalist honors by matching the best round of the tournament with a one-under 71 on Tuesday. She finished with a three-round total of 220, one stroke better than 2010 Chip-N Club champion Amy Anderson from North Dakota State (74-73-74-221). Redlands' Sarah Schober took third at 223, while SMU's Maria Elena Villamil added a fourth-place finish at 225. Missouri State's Kelsey Welber rounded out the top five at 226.
SMU outlasted Redlands (921) by just one stroke in the team race, while Iowa rallied late in the round to hold off the Huskers by one stroke at 925. Nebraska closed the tournament in fourth place at 926 (312-307-307), while Missouri State finished fifth (930).
Nebraska will take nearly three weeks off from competition before traveling to the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash., Oct. 3-5.
2011 Chip-N Club Invitational
Monday, Sept. 12 - Tuesday, Sept. 13
Country Club of Lincoln (Lincoln, Neb.)
Par 72 - 6,186 Yards
Final Team Results
1. SMU - 312-302-306-920
2. Redlands CC - 312-301-308-921
3. Iowa - 307-309--309-925
4. Nebraska - 312-307-307-926
5. Missouri State - 311-309-310-930
6. North Dakota State - 310-309-324-943
7. Akron - 318-319-310-947
8. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 311-310-331-952
9. Florida Gulf Coast - 317-313-329-959
10. Houston Baptist - 315-329-321-965
T11. Sam Houston State - 328-310-330
T11. Wichita State - 326-320-322-968
13. McNeese State - 337-309-330-976
14. Creighton - 344-336-333-1,013
15. South Dakota - 351-339-346-1,036
Top 10 Individuals
1. Felicia Espericueta, SMU - 74-75-71-220
2. Amy Anderson, North Dakota State - 74-73-73-221
3. Sarah Schober, Redlands CC - 76-72-75-223
4. Maria Elena Villamil, SMU - 74-75-76-225
5. Kelsey Welber, Missouri State - 75-79-72-226
T6. Kayla Knopik, Nebraska - 75-77-75-227
T6. Steffi Neisen, Nebraska - 78-71-78-227
T6. Catherine Dolan, Missouri State - 76-74-77-227
9. Elcin ULU, Redlands CC - 77-74-77-228
10. Madeleine Sheils, Nebraska - 77-77-75-229
Nebraska Individuals
T6. Steffi Neisen - 78-71-78-227
T6. Kayla Knopik - 75-77-75-227
10. Madeleine Sheils - 77-77-75-229
T35. Shelby Martinek - 78-82-82-242*
T38. Katelyn Wright - 82-82-79-243*
T42. Remy Molyneux - 79-82-83-244*
T45. Katie Keiser - 83-82-80-245
*playing as an individual outside Nebraska's lineup