Huskers to Compete at GolfWeek Conference Challenge

The Nebraska women’s golf team continues its 2015 fall season by traveling to the Red Sky Ranch and Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo., for the GolfWeek Conference Challenge, Sept. 21-23.

The 18-team field, which features squads from 18 conferences around the nation, will be challenged by the 6,249-yard, par-72 layout at Red Sky beginning with the first round on Monday morning. The tournament continues with the second round on Tuesday, before concluding with Wednesday’s final round. The tournament is being hosted by the University of Denver.

Live scoring for the tournament will be available through GolfStat.com

2015 GolfWeek Conference Challenge
Location/Host: Wolcott, Colo./University of Denver
Course: Red Sky Ranch and Golf Club
Par/Yardage: 72/6,249 Yards
Start Times:
Monday, Sept. 21 - 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 22 - 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 - 9:30 a.m.

Participating Teams (18)
Arizona State
Boston College
Campbell
Denver
Florida International
Jacksonville
Lamar
Long Beach State
Memphis
Mississippi 
Nebraska
New Mexico State
Pepperdine
San Diego State
TCU
Toledo
Troy
Wichita State

Nebraska Lineup

1. Audrey Judd
2. Haley Thiele
3. Morgan Smejkal
4. Sarah Pravecek
5. Cassidy Stelzmiller

Judd, Thiele Lead NU in Qualifying
For the second straight tournament to open the fall, sophomore Audrey Judd and true freshman Haley Thiele led Nebraska in pre-tournament qualifying to earn the top two spots in the Husker lineup.

Thiele, the youngster from Wahoo, Neb., also led the Big Red at the season-opening Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational, Sept. 7-8. Her second-round 71 was the best round of the tournament for the Huskers, which helped her close the three rounds with a 234, which led the five Huskers in the lineup.

Judd, a native of Olathe, Kan., posted Nebraska’s No. 4 score (249) in the lineup at Kansas State.
Sarah Pravecek, who earned the No. 4 spot in the Husker lineup for this week’s GolfWeek Conference Challenge, led the Big Red at Kansas State. The junior’s three-round total of 230 tied for 24th, while she played as an individual outside the Husker lineup.

Seniors Morgan Smejkal (No. 3) and Cassidy Stelzmiller (No. 5) earned the final two spots in the Husker lineup for the GolfWeek Conference Challenge. Senior Cassie Deeg, who had played every round of her career in the Husker lineup, did not qualify for Nebraska’s top five in Colorado. She was the No. 2 finisher in the Husker lineup at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, tying for 44th at 237.

Smejkal Shoots for Best Season
Morgan Smejkal hopes for the most consistent season of her career in 2015-16. The fifth-year senior from Columbus, Neb., has played major roles in the Nebraska lineup for each of the past three seasons but has competed just once at the Big Ten Championships.

In 2014, Smejkal was NU’s No. 4 finisher at the Big Ten Championships, but entered the second round of the tournament in the top 10.

Smejkal, whose 77.04 stroke average last year represented a 4.52 stroke per round improvement over her redshirt freshman campaign, will look to close out her career with her best season.
Like Deeg and Stelzmiller, Smejkal’s leadership on and off the course has been a constant for the Big Red. A three-time academic All-Big Ten choice, Smejkal is also the only student-athlete in program history to earn the Beatrice Dierks Rohman Scholarship on two occasions. Smejkal claimed a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2014. She is also a two-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Stelzmiller Shines on, Off Course
Cassidy Stelzmiller, a fifth-year senior from Placerville, Calif., has joined Cassie Deeg in Nebraska’s lineup at each of the last three Big Ten Championships. In fact, Stelzmiller’s tie for 18th at the 2014 Big Ten Championships, is the highest finish at the conference tournament by any current Husker.

Last season, Stelzmiller finished with a career-best 76.76 stroke average, which was more than a three-stroke per round improvement from her sophomore season and nearly five strokes better than her redshirt freshman campaign.

A two-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Stelzmiller will try to produce her most consistenst season in 2015-16.

Sophomores Set to Step Up
Sophomores Emily Gillman and Audrey Judd will both be looking to build off solid freshman seasons for the Huskers. Gillman tied for 67th at the Big Ten Championships and finished with a solid 77.67 stroke average. Judd, who battled a foot injury in the middle of the season, added a 78.07 stroke average while tying for 70th at the Big Ten Championships.

“Audrey and Emily got a taste of the competition last year and they seemed to learn something new at every tournament,” Krapfl said. “They both have the potential to be really good players, and we hope to see some major gains from them after getting a year of experience under their belts.”

Thiele Ready to Contribute
Nebraska’s six returning golfers are joined by one of the top recruits in school history with the addition of Haley Thiele.

The freshman from Wahoo, Neb., capped a tremendous junior career by winning the 2015 Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship in August.

Thiele led the tournament from start to finish after firing an opening-round 67. She finished with a four-round total of 287 to claim her third consecutive top-15 finish at the Trusted Choice Big “I”, including a fourth-place showing in 2014. She is just the second Husker in history to win the Big “I”, joining current professional Maddie Shiels. Thiele is also the first Husker in history to post three top-15 finishes at the event.

The Big “I” was the final piece to a big finish to the summer of 2015 for Thiele, who also tied for third a week earlier at the Optimist International Junior Championship, just a few weeks after tying for fifth at the North & South Junior Amateur.

“I’ve followed Haley’s progress for a lot of years, and I knew very early she had what it took to be a high level Division I player,” Krapfl said. “The hardest part was waiting so long before she could join our team. Haley is everything we look for in a student-athlete. She’s a great student with outstanding golf skills. She’s also a team player with an incredible work ethic, and she has a passion for the game. I think she has the potential to be the best we’ve ever had play for the Huskers.”

Thiele’s talent was not limited to the junior circuit. The two-time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year also produced three top-15 finishes at the Nebraska Class C Boys High School State Tournament. As a senior, her fourth-place finish was the best ever by a girl at a boys state golf tournament. She also led her Bishop Neumann team to a runner-up finish.

Off the course, she was also one of the best basketball players in the state of Nebraska. The two-time All-Nebraska selection was a two-time Class C-1 all-state selection at guard. She was also a starter on the Bishop Neumann volleyball team.

Deeg Earning Place in NU History
Cassie Deeg, who is Nebraska’s top returning golfer from a year ago, owns the second-best career stroke average (76.67) in school history, trailing only 2003 All-American Sarah Sasse (75.92).
A three-year starter on the course, Deeg also has been a standout in the classroom and the community. A two-time academic All-Big Ten selection, Deeg was the Huskers’ 2015 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner. She also claimed a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2015, while earning her second straight appearance on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Big Red Face Solid Schedule
The Huskers will face a challenging schedule that opened with the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational, in Manhattan, Kan., Sept. 7-8. It marked the first time since 2006-07 that the Big Red opened the season on the road. The Huskers play their only other tournament in September with a return to the GolfWeek Conference Challenge in Vail, Colo., Sept. 21-23.

Nebraska makes its only home appearance of the year at the 2015 Chip-N Club Invitational at the Country Club of Lincoln, Oct. 5-6. The dates for the Chip-N Club mark the latest fall tournament at home in history for the Big Red, surpassing the Husker Golf Classic, Oct. 3-4, 1994.

Following Nebraska’s lone home event of the season, the Huskers head to North Carolina for the Pinehurst Challenge, Oct. 12-13. NU wraps up its fall schedule by competing in the UNLV Collegiate, Oct. 25-27.

The spring schedule tees off with the Peg Barnard Stanford Invitational, Feb. 13-14, 2016. The Huskers then return to the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., Feb. 21-22. It marks the fifth consecutive year that the Huskers have competed at Westbrook.

The Big Red return to Arizona less than three weeks later to compete in the Clover Cup in Mesa, March 11-13. It will mark the fourth straight season that the Huskers’ have competed in Notre Dame’s annual event in Arizona.

The highlight of Nebraska’s regular-season spring schedule includes a trip to Honolulu for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Hawaii Invitational, March 22-23. The Huskers, who will be traveling to Hawaii for a regular-season tournament for the second consecutive season, will enjoy Spring Break on the islands.

Nebraska closes its regular-season schedule with a journey to Napa, Calif., for the Silverado Showdown, April 3-5. After making five trips west to fill their spring schedule, the Huskers will make their first trip east to compete in the 2016 Big Ten Championships at The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis, April 22-24. It will be the second straight season for the Big Ten Tournament at The Fort.

Nebraska will hope to be in position to contend for its 12th NCAA Regional bid since 1994. NCAA Regional competitions will be held in Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford), Bryan-College Station, Texas (Texas A&M), Baton Rouge, La. (LSU) and Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama) May 5-7, before the NCAA Championships are held in Eugene, Ore., May 20-25.

Huskers Set Pace in Classroom
Nebraska leads the nation with 67 WGCA Scholastic All-Americans since 1989.

Cassidy Stelzmiller earned the second WGCA Scholastic All-America award of her career in 2015. She also claimed the honor in 2013. Stelzmiller, who was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2013 and 2015, joined Emily Gillman in capturing the WGCA Scholastic honor. It was the first award of the freshman Gillman’s collegiate career.

Stelzmiller joined Cassie Deeg, Morgan Smejkal, Jordan Chael and Sarah Pravecek in earning academic All-Big Ten honors in 2015. True freshmen are not eligible for the award.

Overall, Nebraska owns one of the richest academic traditions in all of collegiate sports with a nation-leading 320 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all teams and all sports. NU also leads the nation with 17 NCAA Top Ten Award winners.