Huskers Open April in Arkansas

When: Monday, April 1 - Tuesday, April 2
Where: RidgePointe Country Club, Jonesboro, Ark.
Course Par: 72
Course Yardage: 6,565
Format: 54 holes

• Monday: 36 holes starting at 8:30 a.m. CT (Shotgun)
• Tuesday: 18 holes starting at 8:30 a.m. CT (Shotgun)

Live Golfstat Scoring: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=4208
Daily Results and Recap: www.huskers.com
NU Media Relations Contact: Connor Stange (402-560-3758)
Email Address: cstange@huskers.com

Nebraska Starters (order not yet determined):

• Kolton Lapa
• Matt Record
• Jordan Reinertson
• Manuel Lavin
• Neil Dufford

The Nebraska men’s golf team journeys to Jonesboro, Ark., on Monday and Tuesday for the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate, looking to build off its best score of the season last weekend.

The Huskers will be among 19 teams competing this week at RidgePointe Country Club, a par-72, 6,565-yard layout. Monday’s first round is an 8:30 a.m. (CT) shotgun start, with the second round immediately following. Tuesday’s final round is also a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Live scoring for the event is available on Golfstat.com at the link provided above.

NU will use the same lineup as last weekend’s Denver Desert Shootout, where it shot a season-best 859 over 54 holes en route to a sixth-place finish. Junior Matt Record paced the Huskers with a tie for 10th, which included a 3-under-par 68 in the second round.

Record will be joined by freshman Kolton Lapa, who has competed in every tournament for Nebraska this season. Lapa leads the team with a 73.48 stroke average and has garnered two Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week awards in 2012-13. 

Seniors Jordan Reinertson and Neil Dufford will also tee it up for Nebraska at the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday. Dufford is fresh off his best finish of the season, a tie for 16th in Goodyear, Ariz. Reinertson has competed in 17 rounds this season, averaging 75.59 strokes per round.

Manuel Lavin will be the fifth Husker in Jonesboro, sitting at a 75.82 stroke average. All five Huskers will travel but the lineup hasn’t been determined.

Last Time Out: Record Ties for 10th in Arizona
Junior Matt Record shot a 1-over-par 72 in the final round of the Denver Desert Shootout on Saturday, March 23, to lead the Nebraska men’s golf team to a sixth-place finish.

The Huskers produced a 292 in Saturday’s final round for a 54-hole total of 859, their best score of the season. NU added 285 in the first round and a season-best 282 in the second round. Brigham Young won the team title, shooting 838 over three rounds. The Cougars’ Zachary Blair took home individual honors with a 198 total.

With the tie for sixth, Nebraska defeated three teams ranked in Golfstat’s top 70: No. 19 Illinois (12th), No. 39 Tulsa (tied for eighth) and No. 68 Colorado State (seventh). The Huskers also scored better than former Big 12 foes Kansas (tied for eighth) and Kansas State (14th).

Record finished with 212 for the tournament, marking his best 54-hole score of the season in seven stroke play events. On Thursday, he shot 72 before firing a 3-under-par 68 on Friday. Record’s tie for 10th is his second top-10 of the season as he tied for eighth at the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational in October.

Neil Dufford and Kolton Lapa tied for 16th at Palm Valley Golf Course, a par-71, 6,925-yard layout. The pair matched 73s in the final round to each achieve a 54-hole total of 214. Dufford carded scores of 69 and 72 in the first two rounds while Lapa posted 71 and 70.
Senior Jordan Reinertson paced his way to a 3-over-par 74 on Saturday. Reinertson added a pair of 73s in the first two rounds for a three-round total of 220. He tied for 50th.

Manuel Lavin tied for 71st with 224 strokes. The junior shot 75 in the final round to go along with a 77 in the first round and 72 in the second round. Lavin edged teammate Kevin Gillick by three strokes in the tournament. Gillick, who played as an individual, produced a final-round 76 to tie for 85th.

Off the Tee:

• The Huskers are making their sixth all-time appearance in the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate, which was formerly called the ASU Indian Classic. Nebraska claimed the team title in 1998 and notched top-three finishes in 1997, 2003 and 2004. NU’s last appearance at RidgePointe Country Club was a 14th-place result in 2005.

• Freshman Kolton Lapa earned Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honors on Feb. 27 after tying for fifth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. The weekly accolade was Lapa’s second of the season as he also earned it on Oct. 24, 2012.

• The Huskers have finished in the top 10 in seven of eight stroke play tournaments, which includes the team crown at the Fairway Club Invitational. Nebraska finished fourth at the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational, seventh at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, tied for seventh at the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate, eighth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, 10th at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate and sixth at the Denver Desert Shootout.

• Lapa leads the Huskers with a 73.48 stroke average. He is the only player on the team to compete in every tournament this season (23 rounds). Lapa notched three consecutive top-10 finishes from October to February before that streak was snapped at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate.

• The Huskers have a 295.52 stroke average through eight stroke play events, often showing successive improvement in each round. Nebraska’s third round scoring average is 293.00. The Huskers are averaging 299.63 in the first round and 293.63 in the second round.

• The Huskers added three golfers during the offseason. Sophomore Cameron Palmer joined Nebraska and has competed in two tournaments this spring. The other two golfers, Justin Jennings and Ian Hagener, are set to join the team in 2013-14.

• Nathan Wong will reshirt in his first season with Nebraska. Wong played high school golf at Hamilton in Chandler, Ariz., and joined the Huskers with his twin brother Aaron.

• Lapa set the school record for freshman 54-hole scoring mark during the fall season at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. He shot 2-under-par 211 for the tournament and tied for seventh. Lapa earned Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honors for his performance.

• The Spring Ahead: The Huskers will compete in two more tournaments this spring leading up to the Big Ten Championships, April 26-28. Nebraska will travel to Jonesboro, Ark., for the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate, on Monday and Tuesday before the Hawkeye Invitational, April 13-14.

• Under Head Coach Bill Spangler, who is in his 12th season, the Nebraska men’s golf team has won 10 tournament titles. Spangler has also guided the Huskers to 30 top-three tournament finishes and six individual titles.

• The Nebraska men’s golf program has four NCAA Championship appearances along with seven NCAA Regional starts. The last three seasons, the Huskers have sent one individual to the NCAA Regionals. Last season Scott Willman tied for 40th at the Norman Regional. In 2011 Andrew Wyatt tied for 41st at the Colorado Regional and in 2010, Brandon Crick tied for eighth at the West Regional.