Huskers Finish Fall Strong

The Nebraska women’s golf team wrapped up a solid 2014 fall season with a third-place finish at the 14-team Rainbow Wahine Invitational on Oct. 23. It marked Nebraska’s third top-four team finish in five fall tournaments.

The Huskers produced a three-round total of 899 to close the fall campaign with a team stroke average of 303.00, which represented a 0.52 stroke-per-round improvement over last season’s final average of 303.52.

Jordan Chael led the Big Red with a 75.60 stroke average over 15 fall rounds. The sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., cut 2.17 strokes off her freshman season average in 2013-14. Chael finished in the top 35 in all five events, including a pair of top-10 showings. She opened the fall with a third-place finish at the Chip-N Club Invitational, before adding a tie for ninth at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate.

Cassie Deeg finished the fall strong with back-to-back ties for ninth at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate and the Rainbow Wahine Invitational. The junior from Hugo, Minn., notched Nebraska’s second-best stroke average with a 75.73, which was nearly a half stroke better than the 76.16 she carded as a sophomore in 2013-14. Deeg posted three top-10 finishes during the fall, including a tie for fourth at the Chip-N Club Invite.

Perhaps the biggest jumps in the fall came from two more Husker juniors. Cassidy Stelzmiller slashed 3.81 strokes off her season average from a year ago. The native of Placerville, Calif., posted a 76.08 fall average, including a tie for ninth at the Rainbow Wahine Invite with a three-round total of 222. She also finished 14th at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. As a sophomore, Stelzmiller closed with a 79.89 average following a tie for 18th (230) at the 2014 Big Ten Championships.

Morgan Smejkal also surged down the stretch during the fall. The junior from Columbus, Neb., finished with a 77.00 stroke average, which was 2.41 strokes better than her sophomore campaign. Smejkal tied for 13th in Hawaii with a career-best 224, which included a career-best opening-round 71. She also opened the fall by tying for 13th at the Chip-N Club Invite with a then-career-best 225. In between, she added a tie for 26th with a 230 at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate that included a then-career-best 72 in the second round.

Juniors Earn Top 15 Finishes in Hawaii
Cassie Deeg and Cassidy Stelzmiller tied for ninth place individually to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to a third-place finish at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, Oct. 22-23.

Stelzmiller, a junior from Placerville, Calif., carded Nebraska’s best round of the day with her even-par 72 to finish with a season-best three-round total of 222. Stelzmiller’s tie for ninth marked her first career top-10 finish and the fourth top-25 showing of her career.

Deeg, a junior from Hugo, Minn., added a two-over-par 74 to match Stelzmiller’s tournament total of 222 on the par-72, 6,228-yard layout of the Leilehua Golf Club. It marked Deeg’s seventh career top-10 finish, including her third of Nebraska’s 2014 fall campaign.

Nebraska’s third junior, Morgan Smejkal from Columbus, Neb., pitched in a final-round 78 to register a career-best three-round total of 224 to tie her career best by tying for 13th in the 82-player field. It was Smejkal’s third career top-25 finish.

Sophomore Jordan Chael notched Nebraska’s third-best individual score of the day with her third consecutive 77 to finish in a tie for 28th at 231.

As a team, Nebraska recorded a final-round 301 to close the 54-hole tournament at 899. The Huskers finished just three strokes behind second-place Boise State, which managed a final-round 303 to hold off NU. Vanderbilt ran away with the team title by posting a two-under-par 862, 34 strokes better than Boise State’s 896.

Nebraska finished four strokes ahead of fourth-place BYU and nine shots in front of fifth-place Cal State Fullerton.

All five Vanderbilt golfers finished in the top 15, led by medalist Cindy Ha, who scorched the course with a four-under-par 68 to finish at six-under-par 210. Ha defeated teammate Kendall Martindale, who finished second with a 212.

Freshmen Emily Gillman and Audrey Judd rounded out the Husker contingent in Hawaii. Gillman, who played as an individual outside the NU lineup, tied for 44th at 235, while Judd tied for 63rd at 243.
    
Chael Leads Huskers with Top Fall Scores
Jordan Chael led Nebraska during the 2014 fall season with a 75.60 stroke average. A consistent scorer for the Huskers, the sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., carded 15 consecutive rounds of 78 or better during the fall, including a career-best-tying 71 in the first round of the Chip-N Club Invitational. Chael’s 220 over three rounds at the Chip-N Club was also a career best on her way to a career-best third-place finish.

In her young career at Nebraska, Chael owns three career top-10 finishes, including two in the fall of 2014.

Junior Trio Lifting Young Huskers in 2014-15
Cassie Deeg has continued to be relied upon as a rock in the Nebraska lineup as a junior in 2014-15. A three-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week in 2013-14, Deeg produced Nebraska’s No. 2 stroke average (76.16) as a sophomore. Her average was the third-best by a sophomore in Nebraska history.

She continued to shave strokes off her game in the fall of 2014, posting a 75.73 over 15 fall rounds. The junior from Hugo, Minn., closed the fall with five consecutive rounds of 75 or better on her way to back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate at the Rainbow Wahine Invite. Overall, she notched three top-10 finishes during the fall to push her career total to seven. She owns 10 career top-25 showings.

Fellow juniors Cassidy Stelzmiller and Morgan Smejkal closed the fall by playing the best golf of their careers to bolster the Big Red. Stelzmiller finished in the top 15 at both the Ron Moore Intercollegiate (14th, 226) and Rainbow Wahine Invite (T9th, 222). Over 12 fall rounds, Stelzmiller posted a 76.08 stroke average, which was 3.81 strokes per round better than her final sophomore average. The native of Placerville, Calif., owns four career top-25 finishes, including a tie for 18th at the 2014 Big Ten Championships.

Smejkal contributed a breakout fall of her own with the first two top-15 finishes of her career. The Columbus, Neb., native surged over the final five rounds, posting five straight scores of 78 or better including a then career-best 72 in the second round at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. She then carded a career-best one-under-par 71 in the opening round of the Rainbow Wahine Invite on her way to a career-best three-round tournament total of 224.

Smejkal opened the fall with a then-career-best 225 to tie for 13th at the Chip-N Club Invite. Her final round 73 was also a then-career best. During the fall, Smejkal matched Deeg with nine rounds of 76 or better to lead the Big Red.

Smejkal’s 77.00 average was 2.41 strokes better than her sophomore season in 2013-14. She now owns a trio of top-25 career finishes for the Huskers.

Smejkal, who tied for 55th in her first Big Ten Tournament appearance in 2014, earned spots in the NU lineup in seven of 11 events last season.

Smejkal also has been one of Nebraska’s top performers off the course. Last season, she was awarded the Beatrice Dierks Rohman Scholarship and was an academic All-Big Ten performer for the second straight season. She also earned a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award and a spot on the inaugural Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for her commitment to Nebraska’s Life Skills program.

Smejkal was joined on the academic All-Big Ten team by Deeg and Stelzmiller, while Deeg was also an inaugural member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Freshmen Gillman, Judd Push to Make Impact
Talented freshmen Audrey Judd and Emily Gillman made solid first impressions for the Huskers during the 2014 fall campaign.

Judd, a true freshman from Olathe, Kan., earned lineup spots in all five fall events, although she was unable to compete at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge.

Judd opened her collegiate career by tying for 28th with a 233 at the Chip-N Club Invitational. She posted an identical three-round score of 233 the following week at the Minnesota Invitational to finish 45th.

After sitting out the GolfWeek Conference Challenge, she tied for 48th with a 236 at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. Judd managed a 243 to tie for 63rd at the Rainbow Wahine Invite to close the fall. She posted seven rounds of 79 or better over 12 fall rounds to finish with a 78.75 stroke average.

Judd was ranked No. 70 in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Class of 2014. The two-time Kansas Class 6A state champion also finished 21st at the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship in  2012.

Gillman, a true freshman from Austin, Texas, also played in 12 fall rounds including three as a late replacement for Judd at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge.

Gillman opened with a career-best tie for 35th (235) while playing as an individual at the Chip-N Club Invitational. She did not travel to Minnesota, but filled in for Judd at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge, opening with a 79 and closing with a 76, which both counted toward NU’s team score.

She produced back-to-back three-round scores of 235 to tie for 45th and 44th respectively, while playing as an individual at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate and Rainbow Wahine Invitational to close the fall.

Gillman finished the fall with a 78.50 stroke average, which ranked fifth among the Huskers.

Gillman was one of the top players in the state of Texas at traditional power Austin Lake Travis. Ranked No. 100 in the GolfWeek/Sagarin ratings for the Class of 2014, Gillman was a Class 5A all-stater who helped Lake Travis to top-three state team finishes all four years.

Gillman and Judd have helped fill the void left by departed seniors Katelyn Wright and Steffi Neisen.

Huskers Face Challenging 2014-15 Schedule
The Huskers opened the season at the Chip-N Club Invitational in Lincoln, Sept. 8-9. The Big Red finished third with a solid three-round score of 896, trailing only Ohio State and Missouri at the 2014 Chip-N Club. The Huskers won the tournament title in 2013 with a record-setting total of 874.

The Huskers hit the road for the first time at the Minnesota Invitational, Sept. 15-16, settling for a 12th-place finish in a 14-team field with a three-round total of 929.

Nebraska managed a ninth-place finish (921) in a talented 17-team field at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge in Vail, Colo., Sept. 22-24.

The Big Red began to build momentum in a return trip to Colorado for the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Oct. 10-12. NU notched a three-round total of 900 to finish fourth in a 12-team field.

The Huskers closed the fall campaign strong with a third-place performance at the 14-team Rainbow Wahine Invitational at Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Oct. 22-23. Nebraska’s trip to Hawaii included a rain out on the first day of scheduled competition on Oct. 21, thanks to a tropical storm.

NU opens the spring season at the Westbrook Invite in Peoria, Ariz., Feb. 22-23, before returning to Arizona for the Clover Cup in Mesa, March 13-15. The Huskers play their third straight tournament in Arizona at the Mountain View Collegiate, March 20-21. Nebraska will try to defend its 2014 Mountain View Collegiate title.

The Huskers conclude the regular-season at the SMU/Dallas Athletic Club Invitational, April 10-11, before heading to The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis for the 2015 Big Ten Championships, April 24-26.

The Huskers hope to contend for their 12th NCAA Regional bid since 1994. NCAA Regional competitions will be held in San Antonio, Texas, South Bend, Ind., Raleigh, N.C., and St. George, Utah, May 7-9, before The Concession Club in Bradenton, Fla., hosts a new format for the 2015 NCAA Championships, May 22-27.

Huskers Continue to Set the Pace in the Classroom
Nebraska leads the nation with 65 WGCA Scholastic All-Americans since 1989.  Steffi Neisen capped her impressive career as a Husker student-athlete by claiming her fourth consecutive WGCA Scholastic All-America award in 2014. She was also a three-time Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.

Cassidy Stelzmiller added a WGCA Scholastic All-America award in 2013. Stelzmiller, who was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2013, joined Deeg, Morgan Smejkal, Yoorim Kang and Neisen in earning academic All-Big Ten honors in 2014.

Overall, Nebraska owns one of the richest academic traditions in all of collegiate sports with a nation-leading 314 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all teams and all sports. NU also leads the nation with 17 NCAA Top Ten Award winners.