Thiele Fires 68 at Pinehurst

Pinehurst, N.C. - Haley Thiele fired a career-best 68 to close the opening day in a tie for eighth individually at the Pinehurst Challenge in North Carolina on Monday.

Thiele, a freshman from Wahoo, Neb., opened the first day at Pinehurst with a one-over-par 73 in the first round, before scorching Pinehurst's Course No. 1 with a four-under-par 68 in the second round.

Thiele's three-under-par effort through 36 holes put her five strokes back of tournament co-leaders Alessandra Liu from William & Mary and Louise Olsson of the hosts from College of Charleston. Liu fired rounds of 71 and 65, while Olsson carded scores of 67 and 69 to carry totals of 136 into Tuesday's final round. Twenty-one of the 104 individuals in the 20-team tournament field finished the day at or below par.

Theile's career day helped the Huskers notch rounds of 298 and 293 to finish at 591. The Huskers head to Tuesday in 14th place but just three strokes behind 10th-place Maryland and just 10 strokes back of sixth-place Penn State. East Carolina closed the first day of competition atop the team standings at 570 (287-283), while Iowa heads to the final round in second at 573 (288-285).

Morgan Smejkal played solid golf for the fourth straight tournament, producing rounds of 72 and 73 to close the day tied for 24th at 145. Fellow senior Cassie Deeg added rounds of 73 and 74 to end the day at 147 in a tie for 40th.

Sarah Pravecek provided Nebraska's fourth score of the first round with an 80, while Audrey Judd gave NU its fourth score of the second round with a 78. Pravecek and Judd move to Tuesday's final round tied for 92nd at 159.

Cassidy Stelzmiller rounded out the Husker contingent with a two rounds of 78 to close the first 36 holes in 82nd place at 156, while playing as an individual outside the Nebraska lineup.

The final round of the Pinehurst Challenge tees off at 7:30 a.m. (CT) on Tuesday. No live scoring is available. Final results will be posted Tuesday afternoon on Huskers.com.

Pinehurst Challenge
Pinehurst Course No. 1
Par 72, 5,949 Yards
Oct. 12-13, 2015

Team Standings (Two Rounds)

1. East Carolina - 287-283-570 (-6)
2. Iowa - 288-285-573 (-3)
T3. Chattanooga - 287-288-575 (-1)
T3. Elon - 295-280-575 (-1)
5. North Florida - 290-287-577 (+1)
6. Penn State - 296-285-581 (+5)
7. College of Charleston - 287-295-582 (+6)
8. William & Mary - 291-292-583 (+7)
9. East Tennessee State - 296-289-585 (+9)
10. Maryland - 301-287-588 (+12)
11. Charleston Southern - 293-296-589 (+13)
T12. Morehead State - 294-296-590 (+14)
T12. Samford - 297-293-590 (+14)
14. Nebraska - 298-293-591 (+15)
15. Western Carolina - 297-298-595 (+19)
16. High Point - 305-298-603 (+27)
T17. Illinois State - 314-303-617 (+41)
T17. UNCG - 305-312-617 (+41)
19. Marshall - 314-304-618 (+42)
Old Dominion (No Team Score, Three Individuals)

Individual Standings (Two Rounds)

T1. Alessandra Liu, William & Mary - 71-65-136 (-8)
T1. Louise Olsson, College of Charleston - 67-69-136 (-8)
3. Emily Brooks, Elon - 70-67-137 (-7)
4. Katerina Vlasinova, Old Dominion - 70-68-138 (-6)
T5. Katie Edelblut, William & Mary - 68-71-139 (-5)
T5. Kate Law, East Carolina - 70-69-139 (-5)
7. Mary Dawson, North Florida - 68-72-140 (-4)
T8. Haley Thiele, Nebraska - 73-68-141 (-3)
T8. Kelsey Badmaev, Elon - 74-67-141 (-3)
T8. Vivienne Chin, East Tennessee State - 73-68-141 (-3)

Nebraska Individuals

T8. Haley Thiele (4) - 73-68-141
T24. Morgan Smejkal (1) - 72-73-145
T40. Cassie Deeg (2) - 73-74-147
*82. Cassidy Stelzmiller - 78-78-156
T92. Audrey Judd (3) - 81-78-159
T92. Sarah Pravecek (5) - 80-79-159