Big Ten Match Play Awaits Huskers

Big Ten Match Play Championship
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 15 - Monday, Feb. 16
Golf Course: Hammock Beach Resort (Championship Bracket at Conservatory Course, Round-Robin and Consolation Brackets at Ocean Course)
Location: Palm Coast, Fla.
Format: Match Play

• Sunday Morning: First Round Matches
• Sunday Afternoon: Quarterfinals, Round-Robin Matches
• Monday Morning: Semifinals, Consolation Matches, Round-Robin Matches
• Monday Afternoon: Finals, 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches, Round-Robin Matches

Scoring: ajga.org/big10mpc
TV: Big Ten Network (Tape Delay on Sunday, March 15 at 12:30 p.m. CT)
Course Website: hammockbeach.com

Nebraska Lineup:
1. Josh Reinertson
2. Calvin Freeman
3. Justin Jennings
4. Mike Siwa
5. Ross Dickson

Nebraska Substitutes: Niko Vui, Aaron Wong, Nathan Wong

The Nebraska men’s golf team opens its spring 2015 slate on Sunday and Monday at the Big Ten Match Play Championship at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Fla.

Scoring for the tournament is available at ajga.org/big10mpc. The Big Ten Network will show the event via tape delay on Sunday, March 15 at 12:30 p.m. (CT). The Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach Resort will host all championship bracket matches. Round-robin and consolation bracket matches will be played at the Ocean Course.

The 14th-seeded Huskers face No. 3 seed Iowa in the first round. The match begins at 7:10 a.m. (CT) on the 10th hole of the Conservatory Course. The winner faces the Penn State vs. Minnesota winner in the quarterfinals. The loser drops into the round-robin bracket to face the Maryland vs. Rutgers loser.

Josh Reinertson, Calvin Freeman, Justin Jennings, Mike Siwa and Ross Dickson are all projected to start with Niko Vui, Aaron Wong and Nathan Wong as substitutes at the tournament.

Last Time Out: Huskers Fire Season-Best 290 to Finish 12th
Nebraska closed its fall campaign on Oct. 21 by firing its best score of the season (290) en route to a 12th-place finish at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. The Huskers finished with a 37-over-par 889 total at NMSU Golf Course, a par-71, 7,242-yard layout. NU opened the tournament with 293 before posting 306 in the second round.

Reinertson Climbs Leaderboard, Ties for 11th
Senior Josh Reinertson fired a final-round 73 on Oct. 14 to lead Nebraska to a 10th-place finish at the weather-shortened Bill Ross Intercollegiate. The Huskers produced a 309 total in the final round after posting 312 in the first round. NU’s 10th-place finish marks its fourth consecutive top 10 to start the season. Nebraska’s 45-over-par 621 total over two rounds finished 22 strokes behind team champion Wichita State.

Huskers Finish Sixth in Arizona
Nebraska shot 306 in the final round of the Wyoming/Southern Dunes Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 5 to finish in sixth place. The Huskers produced a 54-hole total of 30-over-par 894 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, a par-72, 7,500-yard layout. NU opened with 291 in the first round before posting 297 in the second round.

Freeman Finishes Tied for Third in Colorado
Senior Calvin Freeman recorded his second consecutive subpar round on Sept. 30 to lead Nebraska to a tie for ninth place at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. The Huskers posted their second consecutive sub-300 round with 297 in the final round at Colorado National Golf Club, a par-72, 7,771-yard layout. NU tied for ninth at 12-over-par 588, as tournament host Colorado took home the team title at 556.

Reinertson Fires Final-Round 69 in Minnesota
Senior Josh Reinertson scorched Windsong Farm Golf Club on Sept. 8 with a 2-under-par 69 in the final round en route to a tie for 24th individually. He led Nebraska to a 10th-place finish among the teams in the Gopher Invitational. The Huskers produced a score of 303 in the final round, tying their best round of the tournament. On the opening day, NU posted 303 in the first round before shooting 305 in the second round. The Huskers’ 911 total for the tournament earned a tie for 10th with Notre Dame.

Off the Tee (Team Notes)
• The Huskers managed top 10 finishes in four of their five stroke play events during the fall season.

• Under Head Coach Bill Spangler, who is in his 14th season, Nebraska has won 10 tournament titles. Spangler has also guided the Huskers to 31 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. In each season from 2010 to 2012, the Huskers sent one individual to the NCAA Regionals. Scott Willman tied for 40th at the Norman Regional (2012), Andrew Wyatt tied for 41st at the Colorado Regional (2011) and Brandon Crick tied for eighth at the West Regional (2010).

Chip Shots (Individual Notes)
Ross Dickson, Senior (London, England)
• Ross Dickson has made five appearances this season, and holds a 75.38 stroke average in 13 rounds.
• Dickson’s career-best round (68) and career-best 54-hole score (214) came at the 2014 Desert Shootout.
• Dickson’s best tournament finish (T-3rd) was at the 2012 D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate.

Calvin Freeman, Senior (Table Rock, Neb.)
• Calvin Freeman has made five appearances this season, and has a 75.46 stroke average in 13 rounds.
• Freeman joined the Huskers in 2013-14 as a junior after competing at Southeast Community College-Beatrice for two seasons. In his first year at Nebraska, Freeman played in 11 of 12 tournaments for a 74.90 stroke average over 31 rounds.
• Freeman has shot his career-low round of 68 on three occasions.
• Freeman’s best career 54-hole score was 211, which he fired at the 2014 Desert Shootout.
• Freeman’s best finish was a tie for third at the 2014 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.

Justin Jennings, Sophomore (Amarillo, Texas)
• Justin Jennings has made five tournament showings this season for a 78.00 stroke average in 13 rounds.
• Jennings played in eight tournaments last season as a true freshman, compiling a 76.06 stroke average over 18 rounds.
• Jennings’ lowest career round (69), lowest career 54-hole score (217) and best tournament finish (T-22nd) came at the 2013 Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational.

Ben Maschka, Freshman (Omaha, Neb.)
• Ben Maschka has played in two tournaments this season for a 78.17 stroke average in six rounds.
• Maschka is in his first season at Nebraska after a standout career at Omaha Creighton Prep High School where he won the individual Class A state title in 2014.

Cameron Palmer, Junior (Gilbert, Ariz.)
• Cameron Palmer did not compete for the Huskers in 2013-14, but played in two tournaments during the spring 2013 season. He holds a stroke average of 80.00 in three stroke play rounds at Nebraska since transferring from Arizona State during his sophomore season.

Josh Reinertson, Senior (Gibbon, Neb.)
• Josh Reinertson has made five appearances this season, and holds a 75.92 stroke average in 13 rounds.
• Reinertson’s summer included a trip to the U.S. Amateur as well as a tie for fourth at the Nebraska Amateur and an appearance in the semifinals of the Nebraska Match Play.
• Reinertson proved to be a consistent player for the Huskers during the spring 2014 season, compiling a 73.85 stroke average in 13 rounds. He managed a career-best fifth-place finish at the 2014 Oak Hill Intercollegiate and fired a career-low 54-hole score of 213 at the Desert Shootout.

Mike Siwa, Senior (Omaha, Neb.)
• Mike Siwa has made three tournament showings in 2014-15 for a 76.67 stroke average in nine rounds.
• Siwa, a fifth-year senior, competed in seven tournaments for the Huskers in 2013-14, earning a 76.39 stroke average.
• Siwa’s best 54-hole score is 217, which he accomplished at the 2014 Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. His best career result is 18th place at the 2014 Oak Hill Intercollegiate.

Niko Vui, Freshman (Apia, Samoa)
• Niko Vui has played in three tournaments this season, and holds a 76.14 stroke average.
• The top-ranked amateur player in Samoa, Vui spent his high school career golfing at LDS Pesega College.

Aaron Wong, Junior (Chandler, Ariz.)
• Aaron Wong played in two tournaments last season for a 75.33 stroke average over six rounds.
• Wong’s lowest round (68), lowest 54-hole score (223) and best tournament finish (T-7th) all came at the 2012 Fairway Club Invitational.

Nathan Wong, Sophomore (Chandler, Ariz.)
• Nathan Wong competed in the first tournament of the 2013-14 campaign, recording a tie for 33rd, after redshirting in 2012-13. He holds a career stroke average of 74.67.

Winter Notes
• Former Husker golfer Brady Schnell earned a spot on the 2015 Web.com Tour following a six-round qualifier in mid-December. Schnell tied for 21st with a 10-under-par 419 total. He carded rounds of 70, 71, 70, 73, 66 and 69 at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

• Head Coach Bill Spangler announced the addition of six golfers to the roster for next season on Nov. 21: Michael Colgate (Saratosa, Fla. - Nebraska-Kearney/Saratosa), Jace Guthmiller (Yankton, S.D. - Yankton), Dylan McCabe (Sioux City, Iowa - Bishop Heelan), Joel Sneed (Leland, Mich. - Leland), Sean Song (Omaha, Neb. - Burke) and Jackson Wendling (Effingham, Ill. - Effingham).

Summer Notes
• Former Husker golfer Brady Schnell fired a second-round 59 at Sirocco Golf Course on Aug. 1 while competing at the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Schnell, an Omaha, Neb., native, became the first player in PGA Tour Canada history to card a sub-60 score.

• Josh Reinertson qualified for the U.S. Amateur after firing 11-under-par 133 for two rounds at Willowbend Golf Club in Wichita, Kan., on July 16. At the U.S. Amateur, he shot 80 and 77 and missed the 64-player cut for the match play portion of the tournament.

• Newcomer Ben Maschka captured individual medalist honors at the Nebraska Class A State Boys Golf Tournament at Holmes Park Golf Course on May 29. Maschka fired a pair of 68s at the two-day, 36-hole tournament to lead Omaha Creighton Prep to its third consecutive team title.