Huskers Head to Conference Challenge

The Nebraska women's golf team returns to action next week by traveling to Colorado to compete in the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Sept. 23-25.

The three-day event at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo., features 18 teams from 18 conferences around the nation. Nebraska will represent the Big Ten, while NC State (ACC), Ole Miss (SEC), TCU (Big 12) and UCLA (Pac-12) represent the other Power Five conferences. Nebraska will be facing Pepperdine, Ole Miss and San Diego State for the second time on the young season. Pepperdine won the tournament title at NU's season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque (Sept. 9-10), while Ole Miss took third and San Diego State finished fifth. 

Nebraska will tee off in Colorado on Monday at 11 a.m. (CT), followed by Tuesday's second round at 11 a.m. The tournament's final round is set for a shotgun start on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.

Kate Smith led the Huskers in New Mexico by tying for eighth place individually with a three-under-par total of 213 (71-72-70) over 54 holes. The senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., notched her 14th career top-10 finish. Megan Whittaker added the best three-round tournament total of her collegiate career with a 225 (74-76-75). The sophomore from Elkhorn, Neb., finished in a tie for 45th, while senior Haley Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) added a 226 to tie for 51st. True freshman Leah Herzog (Red Wing, Minn.) opened her career with a solid 228 (77-76-75) with all three of her rounds counting toward NU's team score.

Golfweek Conference Challenge
Location: Wolcott, Colorado
Course: Red Sky Golf Club (Fazio Course)
Host: Golfweek

Schedule
Monday, Sept. 23 (Tee Times) - 11 a.m. (CT)
Tuesday, Sept. 24 (Tee Times) - 11 a.m. (CT)
Wednesday, Sept. 25 (Shotgun) - 10:30 a.m. (CT)

Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Participating Teams (18)
ACC - NC State
American - SMU
A-Sun - Kennesaw State
Big 12 - TCU
Big East - Xavier
Big Sky - Sacramento State
Big South - Campbell
Big Ten - Nebraska
Big West - UC Riverside
Colonial - Delaware
Mountain West - San Diego State
Pac-12 - UCLA
SEC - Ole Miss
SoCon - East Tennnessee State
Southland - Central Arkansas
Summit - Denver
Sun Belt - South Alabama
West Coast - Pepperdine

Nebraska Lineup
1. Kate Smith (Sr., Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
2. Megan Whittaker (So., Elkhorn, Neb.)
3. Haley Thiele (Sr., Wahoo, Neb.)
4. Noor Ahmed (Jr., Folsom, Calif.)
5. Leah Herzog (Fr., Red Wing, Minn.)
IND - Jessica Haraden (Sr., Thousand Oaks, Calif.)

Huskers Make Frequent Trips to Golfweek Conference Challenge
The Huskers will be making their fourth trip in the last seven years to the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Last season, Nebraska took 11th in the 18-team field with an 899 on the Fazio Course at the Red Sky Golf Club. 
Haley Thiele led the Huskers by tying for 21st (219) last season, including a final-round 69. Thiele also competed at the Conference Challenge as a freshman in 2015-16, tying for 60th (235).

The Big Red also finished 11th in a 17-team field in the fall of 2015, after finishing a program-best ninth in a 17-team field in 2014. Nebraska made its first appearance at the Golfweek Conference Challenge with a 15th-place finish in an 18-team field in the fall of 2012.

NU Lineup Filled With Experience, Features One Fresh Face
The five-player Nebraska lineup for the Golfweek Conference Challenge features a pair of seniors among four returners to the Husker lineup and one true freshman.

Fifth-year senior Haley Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) and senior Kate Smith (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) are joined by junior Noor Ahmed (Folsom, Calif.) and sophomore Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) who were both regulars in the Husker lineup last season. 

Ahmed was one of Nebraska's top players in the spring and fall of 2018, before struggling last spring. She will be making her first lineup appearance this season. Whittaker showed continual improvement throughout her freshman season and posted a 77.81 stroke average. She also matched Smith for Nebraska's top finish at the Big Ten Championship by tying for 51st, including an opening-round 75.

The four experienced Huskers are being joined by freshman Leah Herzog (Red Wing, Minn.), who earned her second straight lineup appearance to open her career. Herzog was named Minnesota Ms. Golf in May before leading Red Wing to a Class 2A state team title. She posted a 69.4 scoring average as a high school senior and finished as the Class 2A individual runner-up. She was a four-time all-state selection.

Smith Shoots for Another Record-Setting Season
Senior Kate Smith will take aim at her best season yet, as she opens the 2019-20 campaign.  A three-year starter in the Husker lineup, Smith has played 90 rounds and owns a Nebraska-record 73.61 career stroke average. She opened her senior season with a 71.00 average through three rounds at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational (Sept. 9-10).

Last season, Smith's 73.52 stroke average was a school record. In 2016-17, Smith set the Nebraska freshman record with a 73.90 stroke average while earning a spot in the 2017 NCAA Regional field. She finished 2018-19 No. 223 in the GolfStat player rankings and owns 21 career top-25 individual tournament finishes, including 14 top-10 showings. She has also won three career Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week awards. In 2017-18, Smith smashed a school record with her 14-under-par 202 at the 2018 Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 25-26). She added the second-best tournament in school history with her 208 (-8) at the 2019 Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 24-25) to finish as the runner-up.

She has fired 26 rounds better than par in her career, including a school-record 64 (-8) in the second round of the 2018 Westbrook Invite.