Huskers Host Chip-N Club Invite

The Nebraska women’s golf team plays host to the 26th annual Chip-N Club Invitational, Monday, Oct. 5 and Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Country Club of Lincoln. The 13-team field will prepare for the tournament with a practice round on Sunday, before teeing off with a shotgun start on Monday at 9 a.m. Following the first two rounds on Monday, the 54-hole tournament on the 6,105-yard, par-72 layout of the Country Club will conclude with Tuesday’s final round beginning with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

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

2015 Chip-N Club Invitational

Location/Host: Lincoln, Neb./University of Nebraska
Course: Country Club of Lincoln
Par/Yardage: 72/6,105 Yards
Start Times:
Monday, Oct. 5: 9 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 6: 8:30 a.m.

Participating Teams (13)

• Bellevue
• Creighton
• Illinois State
• Kansas
• Missouri State
• Nebraska
• Nebraska-Kearney
• North Dakota State
• Notre Dame
• Omaha
• South Dakota
• South Dakota State
• UMKC

Nebraska Lineup
1. Morgan Smejkal
2. Sarah Pravecek
3. Audrey Judd
4. Cassidy Stelzmiller
5. Cassie Deeg

Nebraska Individuals
Emily Gillman, Haley Thiele

Big Red Hunt for Chip-N Club Crown
Nebraska will take aim at its seventh Chip-N Club Invitational team title in the past 13 years when the Huskers take the course at the Country Club of Lincoln, Oct. 5-6.

The Huskers will be hungry for a title after settling for third last season at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club. NU fired a three-round total of 896 last season, trailing the champions from Ohio State (879) and runner-up Missouri (891).

The Huskers captured Chip-N Club team titles in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2013.
Nebraska senior Cassie Deeg will shoot for her second career Chip-N Club individual title and third straight top-five finish at the tournament. Deeg claimed the title with a career-best 213 (72-71-70) in 2013, before tying for fourth with a 220 (71-75-74) last season.

Deeg makes her return to the Nebraska lineup for the Chip-N Club after missing the Huskers’ trip to the GolfWeek Conference Challenge last time out.

Smejkal Shines in Colorado
Morgan Smejkal fired the best three-round score of her career with a 222 to lead Nebraska at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo., Sept. 21-23.

The senior from Columbus, Neb., tied for 14th individually with rounds of 77, 73 and 72 at the Red Sky Golf Club.

Smejkal, who is hoping for the most consistent season of her career in 2015-16, enters the Chip-N Club Invitational with a team-best 76.67 stroke average through six rounds.

Smejkal 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 fellow seniors Cassie Deeg and Cassidy 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.