Huskers Close Fall Campaign at Alamo Invite

The Nebraska women's golf team closes its 2011 fall campaign by traveling to San Antonio, Texas, to compete in the Alamo Invitational, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.

The Huskers, who are coming off a fourth-place team finish at the Hoosier Fall Invitational, Oct. 17-18, will take aim at a par 72, 6,272-yard layout at the Briggs Ranch Golf Club.

The tournament, which is hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio, includes a 13-team field highlighted by fellow Big Ten Conference member Minnesota and former Big 12 foes Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

Madeleine Sheils returns at the top of the lineup to the lead the Huskers. The senior from Boise, Idaho, will be in search of her fifth straight top-20 finish, after finishing fourth at the Hoosier Fall Invite.

The two-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week leads Nebraska with a 74.58 stroke average through 12 fall rounds.

Fellow senior Kayla Knopik adds experience to a young lineup that is filled out by sophomores Steffi Neisen and Katelyn Wright, and true freshman Shelby Martinek. Martinek is coming off the best effort of her young career with her tie for 18th (230) at the Hoosier Fall Invite. Martinek's effort in Indiana included a career-best second-round 71 (-1).

Live scoring of the Alamo Invitational will be available at GolfStat.com.

Alamo Invitational
Location: San Antonio, Texas (Host: UTSA)
Course: Briggs Ranch Golf Club (Par 72, 6,272 Yards)
Shotgun Starts (All Times Central)
Sunday, Oct. 30 (18) - 8:30 a.m.
Monday, Oct. 31 (18) - 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 1 (18) - 8:30 a.m.

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

Alamo Invitational (13 Teams)
Baylor, Central Florida, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri State, Nebraska, New Mexico State, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UTSA

Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Sheils Earns Second Big Ten Weekly Award
Nebraska's Madeleine Sheils captured her second Big Ten Women's Golfer-of-the-Week award in three weeks, when she claimed the honor on Oct. 19.

Sheils, a senior from Boise, Idaho, posted her second top-five finish in the past three tournaments by tying for fourth in a 77-player field at the Hoosier Fall Invitational in Carmel, Ind., Oct. 17-18. Sheils produced a three-round total of 225 that included a final-round 72 to help the Huskers to a fourth-place team finish at the 13-team event.

Sheils owns three top-10 finishes for the Huskers this season and has finished in the top 20 in all four of Nebraska's fall events. She leads the Huskers with a 74.58 stroke average with three of her 12 rounds at par or better. She became the first Nebraska golfer in history to win the Big Ten's weekly award on Oct. 6, following her tournament win at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash., Oct. 3-5. Sheils' performance in Washington included a school-record-tying 67 on her way to a career-best three-round score of 214.

Sheils joined Michigan State's Caroline Powers as the only two women's golfers so far this season to win the conference's weekly award on two occasions.

Huskers, Sheils Earn Top-Four Finishes at Hoosier Fall Invite
Madeleine Sheils fired a final-round 72 to finish in a tie for fourth place individually while leading Nebraska to a fourth-place finish at the Hoosier Fall Invitational at the Crooked Stick Golf Club, Oct. 17-18.

Sheils finished at 225 (77-76-72), five strokes back of tournament champion Becca Huffer from Notre Dame who closed the 54-hole event at 220. It was Sheils' second top-five finish in four tournaments this season, including a tournament title at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash., Oct. 3-5.

True freshman Shelby Martinek added the first top-20 finish of her career with a career-best three-round total of 230 (80-71-79). The Tempe, Ariz., native's tournament included a career-best 71 in the second round. Martinek finished in a tie for 18th as Nebraska's No. 2 finisher in her second career lineup appearance.

Sophomore Steffi Neisen added a tie for 26th with a three-round score of 234, including Nebraska's second-best final round of the day with a 76. Fellow sophomore Katelyn Wright tied for 55th with a score of 245.

The Huskers finished in fourth place at 924, including a final-round 311. At the conclusion of the round. Eastern Michigan won the 13-team tournament at 912.

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.

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. Seniors 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.

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 seven career top-10 finishes and 12 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 53 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 a lineup spot in each of Nebraska's 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 lineup spot at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational and the Hoosier Fall Invitational, where she tied for 18th.

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.