Huskers Head to South Carolina

After a pair of impressive performances to open the spring, the Nebraska women’s golf team will try to build more momentum against a strong tournament field at the Briar’s Creek Invitational in Johns Island, S.C. (March 13-14).

The Huskers, who are coming off their second tournament title of the season with a win at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 26-27), will be part of a 16-team tournament field in South Carolina that features 12 top-100 teams, including No. 25 UCF, No. 31 SMU, No. 36 NC State, No. 38 Maryland and No. 39 Nebraska among the top-40 teams in NCAA Division I women’s golf. 

Pre-tournament action begins with Sunday’s practice round at 7 a.m. (CT), before the Huskers open competition on Monday, March 13 with a shotgun start at 7:45 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 7:45 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 71.46 stroke average after earning her fifth top-10 finish of the season with her fifth-place effort at the Westbrook Spring Invitational. Strand, who finished with a seven-under-par 209 (71-69-69) in Arizona, owns 14 rounds better than par this season, including six straight rounds of 71 or better to open the spring. Her 71.46 stroke average has her on school-record pace, and she heads to South Carolina ranked No. 94 nationally by Golfweek. 

Miu Takahashi joined Strand in the top 10 for the second straight tournament, tying for eighth at Westbrook with a career-best 212 (71-71-70) to finish four-under-par. The sophomore from Nasu-Machi, Japan has trimmed her stroke average to 72.59 and ranks among the top 200 players in Division I according to GolfStat (190) and Golfweek (191). She owns four top-10 finishes on the year including a tournament title at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Oklahoma (Oct. 10-11).

Graduate student Megan Whittaker continues to be the model of consistency in the Husker lineup with seven top-30 finishes on the year, including her tie for 11th with a three-under-par 213 (70-71-72) at the Westbrook Invite. Whittaker owns a career-best 72.59 stroke average, which has helped her to a No. 178 ranking by GolfStat and No. 192 from Golfweek. She owns five top-20 showings on the year. Juniors Lindsey Thiele and Michaela Vavrova will round out Nebraska’s five-count-four lineup in South Carolina after all five Huskers finished among the top 25 at Westbrook.

Briar’s Creek Invitational

Johns Island, South Carolina

Host: College of Charleston

Course: The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek

Par / Yardage: Par 72 / (TBA) yards

Monday, March 13 (Rounds 1/2): 7:45 a.m. (Shotgun)

Tuesday, March 14 (Round 3): 7:45 a.m. (Shotgun)

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Participating Teams (GolfStat Team Ranking)     

Boston College (117), Campbell (78), College of Charleston (46), East Carolina (135), Illinois (55), Iowa (104), Maryland (38), Miami (69), Nebraska (39), Old Dominion (72), North Florida (99), NC State (36), Penn State (73), Rutgers (105), SMU (31), UCF (25)

Nebraska Lineup

1. Kelli Ann Strand 

2. Miu Takahashi 

3. Megan Whittaker

4. Michaela Vavrova 

5. Lindsey Thiele

IND – Andrea Velez

True Team Effort Propels Nebraska to Westbrook Title

Michaela Vavrova fired a career-best 66 (-6) in the final round to fuel all five Huskers to top-25 individual finishes, as the Nebraska women’s golf team stormed to the Westbrook Spring Invitational title in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 27).

The career-best 66 for the junior from Bojnice, Slovakia included four birdies and an eagle on No. 5, vaulting Vavrova from a tie for 50th after the first 36 holes into a tie for 20th with a career-best tournament total of 216 (E).

Vavrova’s fabulous final round was far from the lone highlight for the Huskers, who captured their second tournament championship of the season with a three-round team total of 843 (-21) on the par-72, 6,248-yard layout at the Westbrook Village Golf Club. The Big Red closed with a final-round 277 (-11) to hold off No. 24 Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished second, while No. 44 Denver, Kansas and Rutgers rounded out the top five teams in the 14-team tournament field that featured 12 top-100 programs.

Freshman Kelli Ann Strand (Challis, Idaho) continued her outstanding play by leading the Huskers throughout the tournament. She closed with a final-round 69 (-3) to take fifth individually with a 54-hole score of 209 (-7). Strand has opened the spring with six consecutive rounds better than par in her first two tournaments and owns 14 rounds better than par already this season. It was Strand’s second straight top-10 finish of the spring and fifth of the season.

Sophomore Miu Takahashi (Nasu-Machi, Japan) remained on the heels of Strand throughout the tournament, contributing a final-round 70 (-2) to finish in a tie for eighth at 212 (-4) for the tournament. It was Takahashi’s second straight top-10 finish to open the spring and fourth top-10 performance of the season.

Graduate student Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) also continued her impressive play with a final-round 72 (E) to finish in a tie for 11th with a three-round total of 213 (-3).

Junior Lindsey Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) rounded out the five top-25 individual finishers in Nebraska’s five-count-four lineup with a three-round total of 217 (+1) in a tie for 25th. Thiele closed with a final-round 74.

The impressive performances from top to bottom in the Husker lineup allowed Nebraska to claim its second tournament title of the season – both in tournaments hosted by the University of Wisconsin. Nebraska won the 13-team Badger Invitational in Madison (Sept. 18-20). NU’s win at Westbrook also gave the Huskers five top-two team finishes in seven tournaments in 2022-23, including runner-up showings at the Green Wave Classic (Sept. 12-13), the Dale McNamara Invitational (Oct. 10-11) and the FAU Paradise Invite (Feb. 6-7).

Freshman Strand Makes Instant Impact for Big Red

Kelli Ann Strand made a record-setting debut on her way to a title 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 71.46 stroke average over 20.5 rounds, which is on pace to shatter the school freshman record  (73.90) and the overall school season record (72.18) – both held by All-American Kate Smith.

Strand is ranked No. 94 nationally by Golfweek and No. 109 by GolfStat.

Takahashi Takes Title, Huskers Finish Second at Dale McNamara Invite

Miu Takahashi won her first college title to lead Nebraska to a runner-up finish at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Broken Arrow, Okla., Oct. 10-11. Her one-stroke win came with a then-career-best 213 (-3), including a final-round 69 (-3).

Kelli Ann Strand added her third consecutive top-five finish to open her career, tying for third at 215 (-1), including a final-round 69 of her own. Michaela Vavrova contributed a 70 (-2) in the final round to surge into a tie for 22nd, while Megan Whittaker added a tie for 22nd as well with a three-round total of 223. Lindsey Thiele also pitched in a 70 in the final round to tie for 30th (226) in a 75-player field in Oklahoma.

The Huskers closed the 54-hole tournament with an 869 (+5) team score, just one stroke back of the team champions from Tulsa. Nebraska’s final-round 280 (-8) was the best 18-hole score of any team in 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 finishes last year.

In fact, Whittaker has notched top-25 finishes in 13 of her last 15 collegiate tournaments, including a tie for 11th with a 213 (-3) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 26-27).

Whittaker has produced a career-best 72.59 stroke average over 20.5 rounds this season  and is ranked No. 178 by Golfweek and No. 192 by GolfStat.

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.

Vavrova Slovakian Player of the Year

Nebraska junior Michaela Vavrova was named the 2022 Slovakian Women’s Player of the Year on Feb. 11. She 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.

She celebrated the award by carding the best round of her college career with a final-round 66 (-6) to help the Huskers close out a tournament title at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 26-27). Vavrova vaulted 30 spots up the leader board on the final day in Arizona, tying for 20th with a career-best 216.

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 then-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 college title with a then-career-best 217 (+1) 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 second-round 69 (-3) to help the Huskers to a runner-up 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 tied for 33rd (224) to help 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 Continues to Improve, Producing Strong 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 effort 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).

In the fall of 2022, Thiele produced five top-40 finishes while ranking fourth among the Huskers with a 74.00 stroke average.

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.

Huskers Storm to Badger Invite Title

Kelli Ann Strand charged 16 spots up the individual leader board to take a top-five finish and help the Huskers claim the team title at the Badger Invitational (Sept. 18-20). 

The Huskers, who entered the final round four strokes behind the leaders from Notre Dame, dominated the field on 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 carded a final-round 67 (-5) to jump from a tie for 20th into a tie for fourth. Her final round included an eagle on No. 16 and three birdies to go along with 14 pars. Strand closed the tournament at 213 (-3). She battled her way into the final top five after ending the first day in a tie for 50th with a 77. Her final-round 67 was the low round of the day in the 75-player field.

Miu Takahashi added a top-10 finish of her own, closing an impressive tournament with an even-par 72. The sophomore from Nasu-Machi, Japan, finished eighth at 215 (-1).  

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.

Huskers in The National Polls

Nebraska entered the national rankings for the first time in many years when the Huskers came in at No. 19 in the Golfweek rankings (Sept. 22). The Huskers also entered the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll at No. 20 (Sept. 23). Following a runner-up finish at the Dale McNamara Invitational, the Huskers remained in the top 25 at No. 23 in Golfweek (Oct. 13), while ranking No. 28 in the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll (Oct. 14). 

Nebraska is No. 37 by Golfweek and No. 39 according to GolfStat (March 6). Freshman Kelli Ann Strand heads to South Carolina ranked No. 94 individually by Golfweek, while graduate student Megan Whittaker (178) and sophomore Miu Takahashi (191) join Strand among the top 250 golfers in the nation. Junior Lindsey Thiele (353) and Michaela Vavrova (452) round out Nebraska’s top five.

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.

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). Kelli Ann Strand carried it during Nebraska’s run to the Westbrook Spring Invitational title in Arizona, while Michaela Vavrova will carry the honor bag at the Briar’s Creek Invitational.

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.

Huskers Set Pace in Classroom

Nebraska leads NCAA Division I with 349 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.