Huskers Head South for Kansas Invitational

The Nebraska men's golf team continues its fall schedule next week at the Kansas Invitational at Alvamar Golf Club in Lawrence, Kan. The Huskers are coming off a 12th-place finish at the Mean Green Golf Classic in Texas earlier this week.

The 15-team field for the Kansas Invitational includes three Big 12 schools, including the Huskers, the host Jayhawks and Iowa State. In addition, the field will feature three of the top five finishers from this week's Mean Green Classic, including champion North Texas. The first two rounds will be contested at Alvamar on Monday, beginning with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Tuesday's final round will be a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

Nebraska Coach Bill Spanger said his team was close to putting together a good tournament in Texas, but could not put together entire rounds. He continues to be encouraged by his squad's play, and thinks the Kansas Invite could be the start of better performances for his young squad.

"Alvamar should be a good course for us, so I'm expecting us to play well," Spanger said. "We will be facing a quality field down there, so we will need to have a solid performance to finish among the top teams."

Spangler will not determine his lineup for the Kansas Invitational until after qualifying on Friday and Saturday. Senior J.J. Sullivan, sophomore Judd Cornell and freshman Brady Schnell will definitely be on Nebraska's five-man squad, but the remaining two spots remain open. Schnell is leading Nebraska in stroke average at 73.0 and has recorded a pair of top-20 finishes in his first two collegiate events?ninth at the Fairway Club Invitational and 19th at the Mean Green Classic.

Redshirt freshman Drew Reynolds and senior Chris Hartwig played for the Huskers in Texas this week, but could be pushed by true freshman Thomas Bethel.

Huskers Finish 12th at Mean Green Classic
Nebraska finished in a 12th-place tie at the Mean Green Golf Classic in Lantana, Texas, earlier this week. The Huskers opened the tournament with rounds of 299 and 296 on Monday, then posted a 302 team score in the final round on Tuesday. NU's team total of 897 left it four strokes out of the top 10 in the 16-team field.

Host school North Texas captured the team title with a three-round total of 867, good for a nine-stroke victory over Houston. Louisiana-Monroe, McNeese State and Louisville rounded out the top five in the team race.

Individually, freshman Brady Schnell was Nebraska's top finisher, completing three rounds with a four-over par total of 220, good for a tie for 19th place. Schnell was tied for third after Monday's two rounds, but fired a 79 on Tuesday to fall off the pace. Senior J.J. Sullivan was Nebraska's top player on day two with an even-par 72 and a 225 three-round total, good for a 42nd-place tie. Judd Cornell also finished at 225, while senior Chris Hartwig tied for 56th with a 227 total and a 76 on Tuesday. Drew Reynolds rounded the Husker lineup with a 238 total, including a 79 on Tuesday, good for a tie for 79th place.