Huskers Return to Indiana for Hoosier Fall Invite

The Nebraska women's golf team makes its second trip to Indiana in as many weeks, when the Huskers compete in the Hoosier Fall Invitational in Carmel, Ind., Oct. 17-18.

Nebraska, which competed at the Lady Northern Invitational in French Lick, Ind., Oct. 10-11, will face a 13-team field at the Crooked Stick Golf Club. The Huskers will take aim at the 6,030-yard, par-72 layout at Crooked Stick along with the hosts from Indiana and fellow Big Ten schools Illinois and Penn State. Former Husker Big 12 foe Missouri will also be on hand, along with Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Gonzaga, Illinois State, Notre Dame, Toledo, Western Michigan and Wichita State.

The tournament will tee off with two rounds on Monday, Oct. 17, beginning with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. (central). Tuesday's final round is also set for a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. (central).

The Huskers will hope for greater success in Indiana this time around. Last week, Nebraska finished 11th among 12 teams in a Big Ten-laden field at the Lady Northern.

Senior Madeleine Sheils, who has led the Huskers early in the season with a 74.44 stroke average, tied for 18th at the Lady Northern, while fellow senior Kayla Knopik tied for 23rd and ranks second among the Huskers in the fall with a 77.44 stroke average.

Live scoring for the tournament will be available at GolfStat.com.

Hoosier Fall Invitational
Location: Carmel, Ind.
Host: Indiana
Course: Crooked Stick Golf Club (Par 72 / 6,030 Yards)

Shotgun Starts (all times central)
Monday, Oct. 17 (36) - 7:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 18 (18) - 7:30 a.m.

Nebraska Lineup
1. Madeleine Sheils
2. Kayla Knopik
3. Katelyn Wright
4. Steffi Neisen
5. Shelby Martinek
Individual: Katie Keiser

Hoosier Fall Invitational (13 Teams)
Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Gonzaga, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wichita State

Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Sheils, Knopik Earn Top-25 Finishes at Lady Northern
Madeleine Sheils tied for 18th and Kayla Knopik tied for 23rd as the Nebraska women's golf team finished 11th at the Lady Northern Invitational at the Donald Ross Golf Course on Oct. 11.

Sheils and Knopik helped the Huskers to an 11th-place team finish with a three-round total of 931, including a final-round 316. In a field filled with nine Big Ten Conference schools, Central Florida vaulted from fourth to first in the final round with a tournament-best 289 on Tuesday. UCF posted a 54-hole score of 887 to defeat runner-up Ohio State (892) by five strokes. Michigan finished third at 893.

The Wolverines' Meagan Bauer won the individual title with a three-round score of 213, including a final-round, three-under-par 68 on the 6,037-yard, par-71 layout of the Donald Ross Course. Bauer won the title by four strokes over UCF's Katie Mitchell (217).

Sheils led the Huskers in the final round with a 78 to close the tournament at 227 in a tie for 18th. Knopik added a tie for 23rd with a 229 after settling for an 80 in the third round.

Sophomore Katelyn Wright added a 78 to finish third among the Huskers with a three-round total of 238 in a tie for 47th. Fellow Husker sophomore Steffi Neisen finished one shot behind Wright in a tie for 50th at 239.

Senior Katie Keiser rounded out the NU lineup with a 246, including an 80 in the final round to finish 64th.

Freshman Shelby Martinek tied for 59th while playing outside the Husker lineup as an individual. Martinek finished at 243, but settled for a final-round 88.

Sheils Captures First Career Crown in Washington
Madeleine Sheils tied the Nebraska women's golf individual record with a final-round 67 to capture her first collegiate title at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational at the Sahalee Country Club on Oct. 5.

Sheils, a senior from Boise, Idaho, claimed her first individual medalist honor as a collegian with a three-round total of 214, one shot better than Washington's Jennifer Yang and Oregon's Cassy Isagawa. Sheils' final-round 67 included six birdies (Holes 3, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15) and one bogey (Hole 6) to go along with 11 pars.

The 67 marked the lowest round Sheils has ever produced, and matched the Nebraska school record shared by Stephanie Ruiz (Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, 2005), Kate White (Bronco Invite, 2007) and Natalie Gleadall (UNLV Spring Invite, 2009). Sheils' round was also one of only seven rounds played at better than par in the 63-player field over the course of three rounds (189 total rounds) and the only score better than 70 during the week.

Yang and Isagawa entered the final round in a tie for first at 143, while Sheils headed into the final 18 holes on the par-72, 6,003-yard layout at Sahalee CC in fifth place at 147. Sheils started the day on 10 and played the back nine at three-under-par to put herself in strong position. She closed out the win with a two-under-par 34 on the front nine to assume control of the tournament and put the pressure on Yang and Isagawa. Yang and Isagawa both closed the tournament with even-par 72s in the final round.

Senior Trio Leads Huskers into First Season in Big Ten
The Big Red has moved to the Big Ten, and the Nebraska women's golf team is planning to show some big benefits from experience in 2011-12.

The Huskers, who were one of the most inexperienced teams in the Big 12 Conference last year with four first-year players in the lineup at times, return all but one starter from a year ago.

Returning senior starters Madeleine Sheils, Kayla Knopik and Katie Keiser lead a young and talented collection of seven freshmen and sophomores into Nebraska's inaugural Big Ten campaign with plenty of reasons for optimism.

Although the Huskers are still relatively young, Sheils and Knopik played in every round for the Huskers last season, and Keiser added 26 rounds in her first year at NU in 2010-11.

"There is no doubt that we will be more experienced at the top of our roster this year compared to last year," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "I think that is really going to help us in all areas of our program."

Sheils, a three-year letterwinner from Boise, Idaho, brings a load of collegiate and national amateur experience to the top of the Husker lineup. She has played every round in the Husker lineup the past two seasons and at the start of 2011-12.

Sheils owns six career top-10 finishes and 11 top-25 showings, while owning Nebraska's top returning stroke average from 2010-11. While battling for All-Big Ten honors on the course, the three-time NGCA Scholastic All-American will try to become just the fourth Husker in history to earn four Scholastic All-America awards, while also contending for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

"Maddie has been a tremendous leader both on and off the course during her career, and she had an outstanding summer to set the tone for our season," Krapfl said. "We expect Maddie to have her best season as a Husker because she has put in the work to deserve it."

Knopik has been a fixture in the lineup, competing in 50 consecutive rounds in the Husker top five. A first-team academic All-Big 12 pick in 2011, Knopik has continued to shave strokes off her game each season.

"Kayla has developed into a very good college golfer by making major improvements in her time at Nebraska," Krapfl said. "She is a great example of what hard work and a great attitude can do for your game. We hope she has a great senior season."

Sophomore Trio Hopes to Make Greater Impact in Second Seasons
In addition to three seniors with playing experience, the Huskers welcome back three true freshmen from the 2010-11 season who earned significant lineup time.

Sophomore Steffi Neisen headlines the talented trio after competing in all 32 rounds for Nebraska last season. The New Prague, Minn., native produced the Huskers' No. 3 stroke average (77.13) on the year, which also ranked as the third-best stroke average by a freshman in school history. In the classroom, she was also an NGCA Scholastic All-American.

With a year of collegiate experience and a strong summer under her belt, Neisen is off to a strong start after tying for sixth at the Chip-N Club Invitational.

"Steffi is a great student with outstanding character who has natural leadership qualities. She is a hard worker and cares about those around her," Krapfl said. "She has a solid all-around game with outstanding fundamentals. She is also extremely competitive and will never give up."

While Neisen was a fixture in the Husker lineup as a freshman, Katelyn Wright and Remylee Molyneux also made multiple appearances in the NU top five.

Wright was regularly NU's No. 6 golfer early in the year, but earned spring lineup spots at the BYU Entrada Classic and the Mountain View Collegiate. For the season, she posted an 80.08 stroke average over 25 rounds. She has earned the No. 4 spot in the NU lineup in the first three tournaments of 2011-12.

"Katelyn and Remylee really gained some valuable experience last year," Krapfl said. "We think they are going to see some pretty big jumps in their games this year to give us six experienced golfers heading into the year."

Molyneux played nine rounds in the Husker lineup at the end of the fall season, but was sidelined by injury early in the spring. She competed in 18 rounds on the year.

Freshman Martinek Adding Depth and Competition
Along with added experience, the Husker roster features more depth in 2011-12 with the addition of four talented freshmen, led by Shelby Martinek. Nebraska entered 2010-11 with just eight players on the roster, and Bird and Molyneux each missed significant portions of last season with injuries.

"Last year, inexperience and lack of depth were two pretty big issues that we had to deal with all year," Krapfl said. "We are still going to be pretty young this year, but we think we are going to be a much deeper team, which usually creates more competition in qualifying."

One of the top high school golfers in the state of Arizona over the past four years and an experienced junior golfer at the national level, Shelby Martinek brings a decorated resume to Nebraska. The 2008 Arizona Class 5A-II state champion, Martinek was ranked as one of the top 175 players in the GolfWeek/Sagarin girls rankings as a senior at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe. Martinek is getting a chance to help the Huskers early in her career, competing as an individual at the Chip-N Club Invite before earning her first lineup spot at Washington.

A pair of talented Nebraska natives will try to bolster the Huskers for the future with the addition of Lincoln's Jackie O'Doherty and Morgan Smejkal from Columbus.

O'Doherty, a two-time Nebraska Class A state champion, was a three-time Class A all-state pick in golf. She was also a member of the 2011 Four State Team and the 2010 Nebraska Junior Golf All-Star Team. She was also a competitive swimmer and posted better than a 4.0 GPA at Lincoln East.

Smejkal was a two-time Class A all-state selection and produced a pair of top-five performances at the state tournament in her career. Smejkal was also a member of the Nebraska Junior Golf All-Star Team in 2009 and 2010, and she was a member of the Nebraska Four State Team in 2010 and 2011. She was also an outstanding basketball player who set Columbus High School's three-point record.

One of the top young golfers in California, Cassidy Stelzmiller brings loads of potential to Nebraska. At the junior level, Stelzmiller was one of the top 400 players in the GolfWeek/Sagarin girls ratings. O'Doherty, Smejkal and Stelzmiller could all redshirt in 2011-12.

Huskers Continue to Set the Pace in the Classroom
Nebraska leads the nation with 59 NGCA Scholastic All-Americans since 1989, including two in 2011. Senior Madeleine Sheils has captured three straigh NGCA Scholastic All-America honors and will try to become just the fourth Husker in history to win four awards in 2012.

Sheils, a senior philosophy major from Boise, Idaho, hopes to join Jackie Beste, Allison Stewart and JC Stevenson as four-time Husker NGCA Scholastic All-Americans. Sheils was joined on the 2011 NGCA Scholastic All-America squad by 2010-11 freshman Steffi Neisen. The sophomore from New Prague, Minn., will take aim at her second straight award in 2012.

Overall, Nebraska owns one of the richest academic traditions in all of collegiate sports with a nation-leading 291 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all teams and all sports. The Huskers also lead the nation with 16 NCAA Top Eight Award winners. In 2010-11, Nebraska produced 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans while 113 student-athletes across all sports earned their bachelor's degress during the 2010-11 academic year. The Huskers also led the Big 12 in both academic All-Big 12 selections and members of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.