Huskers Journey to Pinehurst Challenge

The Nebraska women’s golf team makes a quick turnaround after playing host to its own fall tournament by traveling to North Carolina to take part in the Pinehurst Challenge, Oct. 12-13. A challenging 20-team field that includes four Big Ten Conference teams will hit the No. 1 Course at Pinehurst for 36 holes beginning at 7:30 a.m. (CT) on Monday. The tournament concludes with a final round on Tuesday with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

The field will be challenged by a 5,949-yard, par-72 layout at Pinehurst. No live scoring for the tournament will be available, but updates will be posted on Huskers.com at the end of each day.

2015 Pinehurst Challenge

Location: Pinehurst, N.C.
Host: College of Charleston
Course: Pinehurst No. 1
Par: 72
Yardage: 5,949
Start Times (Shotgun both days)
Monday, Oct. 12 - 7:30 a.m. (CT)
Tuesday, Oct. 13 - 7:30 a.m. (CT)

Participating Teams (20)

• College of Charleston
• Charleston Southern
• Chattanooga
• East Carolina
• East Tennessee State
• Elon
• High Point
• Illinois State
• Iowa
• Marshall
• Maryland
• Morehead State
• Nebraska
• North Florida
• Old Dominion
• Penn State
• Samford
• UNC Greensboro
• Western Carolina
• William & Mary

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

Five Huskers Finish in Top 20 at Chip-N Club Invitational
Five Huskers claimed individual top-20 finishes to help Nebraska to a fifth-place team finish in a 13-team field at the Chip-N Club Invitational, Oct. 5-6. Senior Morgan Smejkal continued her strong start to the season with a career-best 12th-place finish that included a career-best three-round total of 220.

Fellow senior Cassie Deeg produced a bounce-back performance by tying for 14th with a three-round score of 221.

Sophomore Audrey Judd added one of the best tournament performances of her young career by tying for 17th with a 226. Her even-par 72 in the second-round on the 6,105-yard layout of the Country Club of Lincoln was a career best.

Freshman Haley Thiele, who was playing as an individual outside the Husker lineup, matched Judd in a tie for 17th. Thiele’s 226 (77-72-77) earned her a spot in Nebraska’s five-player lineup at Pinehurst.

Junior Sarah Pravecek added the best tournament finish of her career by tying for 20th (80-75-74-229).

Those five Huskers will fill Nebraska’s lineup at Pinehurst, while senior Cassidy Stelzmiller joins the group as an individual. Stelzmiller tied for 36th at the Chip-N Club with a season-best three-round score of 234 that included a season-best 75 in the second round.

Smejkal Shining as Senior
Morgan Smejkal is producing the best season of her five-year career so far for the Big Red. The senior from Columbus, Neb., owns Nebraska’s top stroke average (75.56) through nine rounds, while posting a pair of top-15 finishes. Her tie for 12th at the Chip-N Club Invitational, Oct. 5-6, marked the best finish of her career, while her three-round total of 220 was also a career best.
Smejkal’s effort at the Chip-N Club followed a tie for 14th with a then-career-best 222 at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge, Sept. 21-23.

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.