Whittaker Leads Huskers on Second Day at Golfweek Conference Challenge

Megan Whittaker played solid golf for the second straight day to lead the Nebraska women's golf team in the second round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo., on Tuesday.

Whittaker, a sophomore from Elkhorn, Neb., carded a two-over-par 74 with 13 pars, two birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey to complete the first 36 holes at 146 (+2). Whittaker heads into the final day at the Red Sky Golf Club in a tie for 23rd individually.

Junior Noor Ahmed (Folsom, Calif.) contributed Nebraska's second-best round of the day with a 76 (+4). She sits in a tie for 58th after two rounds on the par-72, 6,261-yard layout of the Fazio Course.

Leah Herzog still owns the highest spot by a Husker on the leaderboard. The true freshman from Red Wing, Minn., is tied for 15th after settling for a five-over 77 in the second round. Herzog sits at one-under-par 143 through 36 holes. She opened the tournament with a Nebraska true freshman-record 66 on Monday to enter the second round atop the leaderboard.

Senior Kate Smith provided Nebraska's fourth score of the round with a 78. She enters Wednesday's final round in a tie for 39th at 148.

As a team, Nebraska settled for 305 on Tuesday to slip from fourth to ninth in the team standings with a two-round total of 590. Ole Miss maintained the top spot in the race for the team title at 561, after shooting a second-round 280. Denver moved up to second at 573, while San Diego State climbed to third at 577. Pepperdine enters the final round in fourth at 578 while UCLA completes the top five at 580.

Andrea Lignell from Ole Miss took over the top spot on the individual leaderboard by shooting a five-under-par 67 on Tuesday to head to the final round at 136 (-8). Denver's Anna Zanusso shot a second-round 69 and sits one stroke back of Lignell at 137 (-7). Kennesaw State's Meva Schmit, Pi-Lillebi Hermansson from Ole Miss, South Alabama's Siti Shaari and East Tennessee State's Tereza Melecka sit in a four-way tie for third at 138 (-6).

Nebraska senior Jessica Haraden put up another solid round on Tuesday with a two-over 74 while playing as an individual outside the Husker lineup. Haraden (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) is tied for 42nd with a 36-hole score of 149 (+5). Fellow senior Haley Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) rounded out the NU contingent with an 80 on Tuesday. Thiele is in 89th (164) in the 96-player field.

The Huskers complete the Golfweek Conference Challenge with a 10:30 a.m. (CT) shotgun start on Wednesday. Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.

Golfweek Conference Challenge
Red Sky Golf Club (Wolcott, Colo.)
Par 72, 6,261 Yards
Sept. 23-25, 2019

Team Standings (Two Rounds)
1. Ole Miss - 281-280-561 (-8)
2. Denver - 283-290-573 (-3)
3. San Diego State - 291-286-577 (+1)
4. Pepperdine - 281-297-578 (+2)
5. UCLA - 295-285-580 (+4)
6. Kennesaw State - 289-292-581 (+5)
7. Sacramento State - 291-294-585 (+6)
8. TCU - 292-296-588 (+12)
9. Nebraska - 285-305-590 (+14)
10. NC State - 297-295-592 (+16)
11. Delaware - 301-295-596 (+20)
T12. South Alabama - 303-298-601 (+25)
T12. SMU - 299-302-601 (+25)
14. Campbell - 293-309-602 (+26)
T15. Xavier - 307-306-613 (+37)
T15. Central Arkansas - 311-302-613 (+37)
17. East Tennessee State - 312-312-624 (+48)
18. UC Riverside - 310-329-639 (+63)

Individual Leaderboard (Two Rounds)
1. Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss - 69-67-136 (-8)
2. Anna Zanusso, Denver - 68-69-137 (-7)
T3. Siti Shaari, South Alabama - 72-66-138 (-6)
T3. Pi-Lillebi Hermansson, Ole Miss - 70-68-138 (-6)
T3. Meva Schmit, Kennesaw State - 69-69-138 (-6)
T3. Tereza Meleka, East Tennessee State - 67-71-138 (-1)
T7. Sara Kjellker, San Diego State - 71-68-139 (-5)
T7. Alexa Melton, Pepperdine - 68-71-139 (-5)
T9. Emma Spitz, UCLA - 73-67-140 (-4)
T9. Sabrina Iqbal, TCU - 70-70-140 (-4)

Nebraska Golfers
T15. Leah Herzog - 66-77-143 (-1)
T23. Megan Whittaker - 72-74-146 (+2)
T39. Kate Smith - 70-78-148 (+4)
*T42. Jessica Haraden - 75-74-149 (+5)
T58. Noor Ahmed - 77-76-153 (+9)
89. Haley Thiele - 84-80-164 (+20)