Huskers Head to Arizona for Westbrook

The Nebraska women’s golf team travels to Peoria, Arizona, for its second tournament of the spring season when the Huskers compete at the Westbrook Invitational, Feb. 26-27.

The Huskers will be part of a 14-team tournament field hosted by the University of Wisconsin. The strong field that features 12 teams ranked among the top 100 in the most recent GolfStat rankings will take on a challenging 6,248-yard, par-72 layout at the Westbrook Village Golf Club. 

Pre-tournament action begins with Sunday’s practice round, before the Huskers open competition on Monday, Feb. 26 with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. (CT). Following a 36-hole day on Monday, the tournament will conclude with the final round on Tuesday, beginning again with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. (CT). Live scoring for the tournament will be available through GolfStat.com.

True freshman Kelli Ann Strand leads Nebraska with a team-best 71.77 stroke average after earning her fourth top-10 finish of the season with her seventh-place performance at the FAU Paradise Invitational (Feb. 6-7). Strand closed the tournament in Florida at 211 (-5) with three straight rounds better than par (70-70-71). Strand will play out of the top spot in Arizona and will carry Nebraska’s “Folds of Honor” bag honoring fallen serviceman Daegan Page. 

Miu Takahashi joined Strand in the top 10 at the FAU Paradise Invitational, tying for 10th with a three-round total of 214 (-2), including an opening-round 69. The sophomore from Nasu-Machi, Japan owns a trio of top-10 finishes on the year and will play out of the No. 2 spot in Arizona.

Graduate student Megan Whittaker added six top-30 finishes and a 72.86 stroke average after tying for 20th at the FAU Paradise Invite. Juniors Lindsey Thiele and Michaela Vavrova will round out Nebraska’s five-count-four lineup in Arizona, while sophomore Andrea Velez will compete as an individual outside the Husker lineup.

2023 Westbrook Spring Invitational

Location: Peoria, Arizona

Host: Wisconsin

Course: Westbrook Village Golf Club

Par / Yardage: 72 / 6,248 yards

Tournament Schedule

Monday, Feb. 26 (Rounds 1/2): 9:30 a.m. (Shotgun)

Tuesday, Feb. 27 (Round 3): 9:30 a.m. (Shotgun)

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Participating Teams (GolfStat Ranking)     

College of Charleston (36)

Denver (44)

Iowa (106)

Kansas (53)

Kansas State (92)

Minnesota (59)

Missouri (77)

Nebraska (49)

Ohio State (24)

Oklahoma (52)

Penn State (73)

Rutgers (110)

UNLV (54)

Wisconsin (71)

Nebraska Lineup

1. Kelli Ann Strand, Fr. 

2. Miu Takahashi, So.

3. Megan Whittaker, Gr.

4. Lindsey Thiele, Jr.

5. Michaela Vavrova, Jr.

IND. Andrea Velez, So.

Vavrova Named Slovakian Player of the Year

Nebraska junior Michaela Vavrova was named the 2022 Slovakian Women’s Player of the Year on Feb. 11. The third-year Husker earned the national honor after finishing second at the Slovak Amateur Championship and 12th at the AMUNDI Czech Ladies Challenge. Vavrova also represented Slovakia at the 2022 World University Golf Championships in Turin, leading Slovakia to a ninth-place finish. At the 2022 World Championships, she helped Slovakia to a 31st place finish.

NCAA Championship Changes

The NCAA Women’s Golf Championship will expand from 24 to 27 teams in 2023 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (May 19-24).

The 2023 NCAA Championship features six regional sites with 12 teams and six individuals  qualifying in each region (72 teams, 36 individuals overall).

Regionals will be held at the University of Georgia Golf Course (Athens), PGA National Resort (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Palouse Ridge Golf Club (Pullman, Wash.), Lonnie Poole Golf Course (Raleigh, N.C.), TPC San Antonio (Texas) and The Club at Chatham Hills (Westfield, Ind.), May 8-10, 2023.

Freshman Strand Makes Instant Impact for Big Red

Kelli Ann Strand made a record-setting 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).

Strand, who earned her second straight Idaho Golf Association Women’s Player of the Year award in December of 2022, won the Idaho Women’s Match Play title. She added a runner-up finish 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. 

She leads Nebraska with a 71.77 stroke average over 17.5 rounds.

Huskers Honor Daegan Page with Folds of Honor Bag

The Nebraska women’s golf team is honoring Marine Corporal Daegan Page from Omaha as part of the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program during the spring of 2023.

Page, who was one of 13 service men and women killed in action while helping to evacuate people from the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on Aug. 26, 2021, has his name, rank and branch of service displayed on a Husker women’s golf bag this season.

Megan Whittaker, a graduate student from Elkhorn, Neb., proudly carried the bag in Page’s honor in Nebraska’s first spring tournament as part of a nationwide program sponsored by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Folds of Honor is a preferred charitable partner of the WGCA and the GCAA, and the groups work together to ensure that no family is left behind in the fight to preserve American freedom. Through scholarships and other assistance, they give back to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country.

Daegan William-Tyeler Page would have celebrated his 25th birthday on Feb. 6, 2023, when the Husker women’s golf team opens its spring season at the FAU Paradise Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday. He was born in Red Oak, Iowa and moved to Omaha at age 5. He was an avid hockey player, competing for the state champion Westside Warriors, before graduating from Millard South High School in 2016. Page also loved skateboarding, the outdoors and animals.

Cpl. Page was a rifleman in 1st Platoon, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

To learn more about Daegan Page, or to help others “Live the Dae Way” visit the Cpl. Daegan Page Foundation website at daeganpage.org.