Huskers Improve During Fall Season

The Nebraska women's golf team wrapped up its 2011 fall season with strong scoring at the Alamo Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.

The Huskers shattered their season-best tournament score with a three-round total of 884 on the Briggs Ranch Golf Course, crushing the 924 they produced at the Hoosier Fall Invitational, Oct. 17-18.

Nebraska's effort in San Antonio included a school-record 280 in the second round, which eclipsed the previous best team mark of 284 set last season at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz.

With the strong showing, the Huskers shaved their team stroke average to 306.47 over 15 rounds. The Huskers produced their third top-five team finish of the fall with their fifth-place showing at the Alamo. Nebraska's effort in San Antonio came in a 14-team field that featured five top-50 teams in the GolfStat rankings. NU finished just one shot out of fourth and just four strokes out of third place.

Nebraska's strong team performance to close the fall at the Alamo Invite included numerous career-best individual efforts. Sophomore Steffi Neisen set the tone with a career-best 214 over three rounds to tie for second. Neisen shattered her previous career-best tournament total (224), while also firing a career-best 69 in the final round. The performance also marked the first top-five finish of Neisen's career.

Senior Kayla Knopik also set career bests with a three-round total of 219 (previous best 227) that included a career-best 69 in the second round. Knopik tied for 13th place in the final standings, which marked the second-best finish of her career trailing only her sixth-place showing at the season-opening Chip-N Club Invite.

Shelby Martinek (70, 2nd) and Katelyn Wright (72, 2nd) also fired career-best rounds for the Huskers at the Alamo Invite, while Madeleine Sheils added a second-round 69 to highlight her tournament performance.

The hosts from Texas-San Antonio won the tournament with a three-round total of 866, just ahead of runner-up Baylor's 869. UTSA's Fabiola Arriaga captured the individual title by just one stroke over Neisen and Baylor's Hayley Davis.

Neisen Claims Huskers' Third Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week Award
Nebraska sophomore Steffi Neisen claimed the first Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week award of her career when the conference announced its weekly winner on Nov. 3.

Neisen joined Purdue junior Paula Reto in capturing the conference's weekly honor, the Big Ten-leading third weekly award won by the Huskers this season.

Neisen, a native of New Prague, Minn., produced the best performance of her career in tying for second at the Alamo Invitational, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Neisen notched a career-best three-round score of 214 (-2), trailing only UTSA's Fabiola Arriaga by one stroke in the final individual standings.

Neisen's three-round total shattered her previous 54-hole score of 222 (set last season at the Mountain View Collegiate). Her performance on the par-72, 6,272-yard layout at the Briggs Ranch Golf Course in San Antonio, Texas included a career-best three-under-par 69 in the final round.

Neisen's career effort helped the Huskers to a fifth-place team finish while producing their top team total (884) of the fall campaign.

Neisen joins two-time winner Madeleine Sheils among the Huskers who have captured Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honors during their first fall season in conference competition. Michigan State (Carolina Powers) is the only other school to claim at least two Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week awards this season.

Sheils Earns Two Big Ten Weekly Awards
Nebraska's Madeleine Sheils captured her second Big Ten Women's Golfer-of-the-Week award in a three-week span 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 notched three top-10 finishes during the fall and finished in the top 20 in four of Nebraska's fall events. She leads the Huskers with a 74.73 stroke average with four of her 15 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.

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 the fall 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 56 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 earning lineup spots at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, the Hoosier Fall Invitational, where she tied for 18th, and the Alamo Invite.

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.