Steve Friesen Season 1998-99

Honors & Awards

• 1997, 1998 GTE Academic All-American
• 1997 All-Big 12
• 1998 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12
• 1998 NCAA Qualifier
• 1998 Academic All-Big 12

Senior (1998-99)
Steve Friesen began his senior season with a bang by leading the Huskers to a win and four other top five showings in five fall tournaments. Friesen compiled a team-leading and career-low 70.9 stroke average and in five contests, finished out of the top eight just once, making him one of the spring preseason favorites to receive conference awards. The senior from Lincoln, Neb., was the top Husker finisher in three of the tournaments. Friesen fired five sub-70 rounds, including a season-low 67, and notched three top five finishes, including a victory at the season-opening Falcon-Cross Creek Invitational (71-67-71--209). Over the summer, Friesen notched wins in the 90th Nebraska State Amateur Tournament with a tournament-record score of 21-under-par 267 and at the 31st Nebraska Match-Play Golf Championship. During the past several seasons, Friesen has made consistency and high finishes his hallmark. Now established as one of the top players in the Big 12 Conference and in the country, Friesen is a candidate for All-Big 12 and All-America honors. A former state high school champion for Lincoln High, Friesen has been a member of the Husker top five since his freshman season. During his career, Friesen has earned three individual titles and has placed in the top 10 on 15 occasions.

Junior (1997-98)
Always one of NU's most consistent performers, Friesen was Nebraska's top finisher at the NCAA Championships with a 37th-place showing (69-72-74-74--288). He led the Huskers during the spring campaign with a 73.9 stroke average -- finishing out of the top 20 just once in six tournaments -- and was second on the team in overall stroke average for the fall and spring seasons combined (73.51). In addition, Friesen finished a solid 15th at regionals with an even-par 213 (69-72-72) and earned Academic All-America status for the second straight season. The lone Husker to finish among the top 15 at the Big 12 Championships, Friesen tied for 11th with a 228 (75-80-73). Friesen's fine-crafted spring season included four top 15 finishes and two more that ranked among the top 25 in tournament action. His top finish of the spring was a seventh-place showing at the Cleveland Golf Collegiate in mid-March. During the fall, Friesen came on strong in mid-season with a season-best third-place showing at the Legends of Indiana Intercollegiate, was just two strokes off the school-record mark of 65. At the completion of the fall season, Friesen was ranked 93rd in the nation, according to the final 1997 MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings (Dec. 10, 1997).

Sophomore (1996-97)
With a 75.1 average for the season, Friesen aided the Huskers to a sixth-place finish at the inaugural Big 12 Championships by placing 15th overall (73-76-78--227). The All-Big 12 first team member was NU's second-leading performer at the NCAA Regionals, as he carded a six-over-par 222 (71-72-79) to finish in a tie for 48th. In addition to his excellence on the links, Friesen was named a 1997 CoSIDA GTE Academic All-American for his work in the classroom. Friesen held a 3.89 grade-point average at the time of the award. Friesen started his sophomore campaign in style, as he placed in the top 10 in four of NU's five tournaments in the fall and averaged 72.9 strokes per round. He showed consistency, as his highest 18-hole score was 76, and 10 of his 15 rounds were below 75. Friesen also notched four top 10 finishes, including first-place finishes at the Kansas Invitational and Woodlands Intercollegiate, marking the first back-to-back individual titles in the history of the NU golf program. At Kansas, Friesen fired four-under-par 212 over 54 holes to win the tournament by three shots. He shot a career-low, five-under-par 67 in the second round to take control of the tournament. At the Woodlands, Friesen shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round to win the tournament by one stroke. Although his stroke average wasn't as strong during the spring season (76.7), Friesen still finished with a cumulative stroke average of 75.1, a mark that ranked second on the team. He notched two top 25 finishes during the spring, including a 14th-place showing at the SFA Crown Classic with a 152 (77-75).

Freshman (1995-96)
Friesen compiled a 76.1 stroke average in the fall 1995 season, his first as a Husker, and placed 22nd at the Big Eight Championships (86-77-73--235). He finished in the top 25 three times, including a 15th place finish at Texas Tech, 20th place at the Kroger Intercollegiate and 22nd place at Falcon-Cross Creek. In the spring of 1996, Friesen had a 76.5 average and finished in the top 10 in two events. Friesen earned a 4.0 GPA and was named to the 1996 Phillips 66 Academic All-Big Eight Golf First Team.

Personal
Steve is the son of Chuck and Pat Friesen. A biological sciences major, Friesen holds a cumulative 3.805 GPA.