Huskers Back in Action in Oklahoma

The Nebraska women’s golf team will compete at the Dale McNamara Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow, Okla. The University of Tulsa will host the 13-team tournament field that includes: Boise State, BYU, James Madison, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Oral Roberts, Sacramento State, Sam Houston State, South Florida, Tulsa and UTSA. The first round on the Par-72, 6,233-yard layout begins on Monday at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. The second round will follow at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Monday. The final 18 holes will be played on Tuesday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. 

Nebraska took second place at the Dale McNamara Invitational in 2021, which was played at the Golf Club of Oklahoma. UNLV was the team champion with a score of 861, bettering the Huskers (872) by 11 strokes. Megan Whittaker tied for sixth, a career-best finish, with a score of 215 (-1). Whittaker will be joined by Kelli Ann Strand, Miu Takahashi, Lindsey Thiele and Michaela Vavrova in the lineup on Monday and Tuesday. Andrea Velez will play as an individual.  

The Huskers have played in two tournaments so far this fall, winning the Badger Invitational team title in Wisconsin and finishing second at the Green Wave Classic in New Orleans. The Huskers are ranked No. 20 in the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll.

Huskers Storm to Badger Invite Title

The last time the Huskers took the course was Sept. 18-20 at the Badger Invitational. In the final round, Kelli Ann Strand charged 16 spots up the individual leaderboard to take a top-five finish and help the Huskers claim the team title. 

The Huskers, who entered the final round four strokes behind the leaders from Notre Dame, dominated the field in a stormy day on the 6,248-yard layout of the University Ridge Golf Course in Verona. Nebraska put up the best team round for the second straight day, closing the final eight holes with an even-par 288 to end the tournament at 863 (-1) over three rounds. The Big Red defeated both Notre Dame (874) and Old Dominion (874) by 11 strokes in the final team standings. ODU closed the tournament with a final-round 293 (+5), while the Fighting Irish struggled down the stretch with a 303 (+15).

Strand, a true freshman from Challis, Idaho, carded a final-round 67 (-5) to jump from a tie for 20th into a tie for fourth in the final standings. Strand’s final round included an eagle on No. 16 and three birdies to go along with 14 pars. Strand closed the tournament with a 54-hole score of 213 (-3). She battled her way into the final top five after ending the opening day in a tie for 50th with a 77. Her final-round 67 was the low round of the day and one of just 10 rounds better than par on the final day of the tournament in the 75-player field.

Miu Takahashi added a top-10 individual finish of her own, closing an impressive tournament with an even-par 72. The sophomore from Nasu-machi, Japan, capped the best tournament of her career in eighth place at 215 (-1). Takahashi’s final round included birdies on No. 5, No. 9 and No. 16 to overcome a trio of bogeys, while adding 12 pars. Her three-round total of 215 was three strokes better than her previous career-best 218 (+2), which she set the week before at the Green Wave Classic in New Orleans. 

Huskers Enter Top 25 in National Poll

After a tournament title at the Badger Invitational in Wisconsin (Sept. 18-20), the Nebraska women’s golf team captured a top-25 national ranking in the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll.

The Huskers, who opened the season with a runner-up finish and a school-record score of 835 (-29) at the Green Wave Classic in New Orleans (Sept. 12-13), are ranked No. 20 in the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll. 

Nebraska freshman Kelli Ann Strand is ranked 36th by Golfweek in the individual rankings. She leads the Big Red with a 69.17 stroke average.

 

Freshman Strand Makes Instant Impact for Big Red

Kelli Ann Strand made a record-setting collegiate debut on her way to an individual victory at the Green Wave Classic in New Orleans (Sept. 12-13).

Strand, a three-time Idaho state champion who was ranked among the top-310 players in the world (WAGR 308) before arriving at Nebraska, set the Husker freshman record with a second-round 65 (-7) while tying the NU record for best 54-hole tournament score with a 202 (-14) at the Bayou Oaks South Course. Strand’s performance included a school freshman record 65 (-7) in the second round. The true freshman from Challis, Idaho, fired a 29 (-7) over the back nine in the second round before opening the third round with a 31 (-5) on the front nine, carding a 60 (-12) over those consecutive 18 holes splitting two rounds. The NCAA record for best round of women’s golf is 61. Strand also was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Sept. 15).

A leading contender to earn a second straight Idaho Golf Association Women’s Player of the Year award, Strand produced a strong summer of 2022. After winning the Idaho Women’s Match Play title she took second at the Idaho Women’s Amateur. She was also the runner-up at the Girls Junior Americas Cup (July 24-28) for the second straight year with a three-round total of 205 (-11). She captured third at the IMG Academy Junior World Championship (July 12-15) with a four-round total of 280 (-8), which came before competing at the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur in Kentucky (July 18-23), where she advanced to Match Play before finishing in a tie for 33rd.

Strand earned the No. 1 position in Nebraska’s lineup for the season-opening Green Wave Classic by winning Nebraska’s competitive qualifying rounds in advance of the tournament. 

Whittaker Back for Fifth Year to Lead Huskers in Big Ten 

A hard-working golfer who has shown impressive improvement throughout her five collegiate seasons, Megan Whittaker returns to lead Nebraska in the hunt for an NCAA Regional bid in 2022-23. The graduate student from Elkhorn, Neb., produced Nebraska’s No. 2 stroke average (74.04) in 2021-22, just missing an individual NCAA Regional bid. She trailed only NCAA Regional qualifier Kirsten Baete (73.94) among the Huskers.

Whittaker opened her fifth season as a Husker with a career-best 207 (-9) to take sixth at the Green Wave Classic. It followed a big summer for Whittaker that included a sweep of the Nebraska women’s match play and stroke play championships and a berth in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. 

Whittaker also joined teammates Michaela Vavrova and Kelli Ann Strand as Big Ten Golfers to Watch heading into the 2022-23 season. Whittaker produced the first two top-10 individual finishes of her career while matching Baete and Vanessa Bouvet for the team lead with seven top-25 performances in 2021-22.

A star in the classroom and the community, Whittaker earned her bachelor’s degree in finance in May of 2022. She is a four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American, a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. In the community, she earned a prestigious Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award at Nebraska in 2021. She was also Nebraska’s 2021 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for women’s golf.

Whittaker’s ties to Nebraska women’s golf are very strong, as her mother Kim (Lefler) lettered as a golfer for the Huskers from 1991 to 1994, helping Nebraska advance to the 1994 NCAA West Regional as a senior.

B1G Golfer-to-Watch Vavrova Competes for Slovakia at WATC

Michaela Vavrova missed the first week of fall classes while competing as a member of the Slovakian Team at the World Amateur Team Championships in Paris in late-August. The third-year Husker was Slovakia’s top finisher in a field that featured 56 of the world’s best amateur teams.

Vavrova did not travel to the Green Wave Classic after capping her sophomore season at Nebraska by tying for 17th with a three-round total of 220 (+7) at the 2022 Big Ten Championship. She opened with a career-best 68 (-3) to sit atop the leader board after one round and was tied for fifth at 141 (-1) through two rounds in Pittsburgh.

Vavrova captured her first career collegiate title by firing a career-best 217 (+1) over three rounds at the Stampede at The Creek in Elkhorn, Neb. (Oct. 4-5, 2021). She was named the Big Ten Co-Golfer of the Week (Oct. 6), and closed the 2021 fall campaign with a tie for 10th (217) that included a career-best second-round 69 (-3) to help the Huskers to a runner-up team finish at the White Sands Collegiate.

As a true freshman, Vavrova competed in all 21 rounds in the 2020-21 Husker lineup, posting NU’s fourth-best stroke average (76.33). She notched three straight top-25 finishes (Arizona Wildcat, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Indiana Spring Invite). Vavrova also put up a 224 to tie for 33rd in helping Nebraska to a runner-up team finish at the Big Ten Championship. She was NU’s No. 2 finisher at the NCAA Columbus Regional with her tie for 45th (229). 

    

Thiele Continuing to Improve; Preparing for Junior Year

Lindsey Thiele captured her second career top-10 finish by tying for eighth with a career-best 209 (-7)  at the season-opening Green Wave Classic (Sept. 12-13). Her performance included a career-best 69 (-3) in the opening round. 

As a sophomore, Thiele (pronounced TEEL) produced a solid 76.89 stroke average while competing in five tournaments. She shared the individual title with teammate Nicole Hansen at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational (Sept. 20-21, 2021). Thiele opened with rounds of 70 and 7) on her way to a then-career-best 219 (+3) at Colbert Hills. Thiele’s effort earned her Big Ten Co-Golfer-of-the-Week honors with Hansen (Sept. 22).

The Wahoo, Neb., native who is the most recent of three sisters (Haley, Hannah) to play golf for the Big Red, was NU’s sixth golfer in the count-four format at the 2021 Big Ten Championship.

An outstanding student, Thiele is a Regents Scholar at Nebraska and a two-time WGCA Scholastic All-American.

Sophomores Get Early Chance to Help Huskers at Green Wave

Sophomores Miu Takahashi (Nasu-machi, Japan) and Andrea Velez (Pereira, Colombia) earned lineup spots to open the 2022 fall campaign at the Green Wave Classic, while fellow sophomore Lena Hassert (Kreuzau, Germany) also traveled to New Orleans as an individual.

Takahashi and Velez both contributed to Nebraska’s school-record three-round tournament total of 835 by finishing in a tie for 35th with 54-hole totals of 218 (+2).

Takahashi was the most consistent newcomer to the Big Red lineup in 2021-22. She produced a 77.55 stroke average over 29 rounds and made eight lineup appearances, including the 2022 Big Ten Championship. She produced a career-best 219 (+3) to tie for 30th at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 27-28). She tied for fifth individually with a 222 to help Nebraska’s “B” lineup to the team title at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational (Sept. 20-21). 

Takahashi earned a lineup spot to open her college career at the 2021 Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 13-14). She closed the fall with three straight lineup appearances, including a tie for 18th (226) at The Molly Collegiate and a tie for 25th (224) at the White Sands Intercollegiate. 

One of the top young golfers in Colombia, Velez spent the 2021 spring semester in Lincoln after having her initial arrival to campus delayed by COVID-19 restrictions in the fall of 2020. In her collegiate debut, Velez helped Nebraska’s “B” lineup to the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational title by producing a top-20 individual finish with three rounds of 75 (225, +9).

Hassert is a two-time Austrian Junior Stroke Play champion and a German National Championship runner-up (2017). She made her college debut in NU’s five-player lineup at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational (Sept. 20-21).

Sutherland Leads Huskers

After spending a season as associate head coach, Jeanne Sutherland was named the new Nebraska Head Coach on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Sutherland came to Nebraska after spending 10 seasons (2011-21) as the head coach at SMU. She previously spent 15 seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M (1992-2007).

In 2018, Sutherland was named the inaugural winner of the WGCA Kim Evans Award. She also earned the WGCA Founders Award in 2017. A four-time conference coach of the year at Texas A&M (3 Big 12, 1 Southwest Conference), Sutherland was also a two-time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year (1997, 2007). She led 13 Texas A&M teams to NCAA Regional play, including four NCAA Championship appearances in 1997 (17th), 2004 (24th), 2005 (22nd) and 2006 (19th). 

In her head coaching career, Sutherland has guided 18 teams to NCAA Regional appearances. She has coached three individual All-Americans, five individual conference champions and three conference players of the year.

All-Big Ten Baete Led Big Red During Strong 2021-22 Season

Kirsten Baete completed her fifth season at Nebraska by capturing an individual berth to the 2022 NCAA Stanford Regional. The Beatrice, Neb., native took fourth at the 2022 Big Ten Championships to earn a spot on the Big Ten All-Championship Team while claiming second-team All-Big Ten honors. She was also Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for not only women’s golf but for all women’s sports during the 2021-22 campaign.

Baete capped an impressive career by tying for 30th at the NCAA Stanford Regional while finishing with a 73.94 stroke average on the year. She produced seven top-25 finishes in 2021-22, including her first career tournament title at the White Sands Intercollegiate in Nassau, Bahamas (Oct. 22-24). She added a fourth-place individual finish at the Big Ten Championship. 

In 2020-21, Baete fired a final-round 70 (-2) to help the Big Red surge to a tie for second at the 2021 Big Ten Championship. She tied for 16th individually with a season-best 218.

Baete was a four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American.

Huskers Set Pace in Classroom

Nebraska leads NCAA Division I with 348 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time across all sports. The Huskers also lead all schools in history with 18 NCAA Top 10 Award winners across all sports. 

Nebraska women’s golf leads the nation with 90 WGCA Scholastic All-Americans since 1989, including three in 2021-22. Kirsten Baete, Lindsey Thiele and Megan Whittaker all earned WGCA honors for the second straight season in 2021-22. 

Baete and Whittaker became the seventh and eighth four-time WGCA Scholastic All-Americans in Nebraska history in 2021-22. This season, Whittaker could become the first five-time WGCA Scholastic honoree in the Husker record book. Megan’s mother, Kim (Lefler), was also a three-time WGCA Scholastic All-American at Nebraska (1992, 1993, 1994).

Lindsey is the third Thiele sister to be a WGCA Scholastic All-American, joining Haley (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020) and Hannah (2018).

NU also owns a 95 percent graduation success rate across all student-athletes.