Huskers Finish Eighth at Southern Miss; Cornell Records Top-10 Finish

Hattiesburg, Miss. -- The Nebraska men’s golf team fired a final-round 295 on Tuesday at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate to finish with a three-round total of 887, good for an eighth-place finish in the event. The invitational at Hattiesburg Country Club was the spring opener for the Huskers.

The Huskers opened the tournament with rounds of 302 and 290 on Monday and stood in a tie for eighth place after the first day of action. Nebraska continued its solid play on Tuesday, but six of the teams ahead of the Huskers posted rounds of 293 or better. Host Southern Mississippi captured the team title after posting a 276 on Tuesday, the lowest round of the tournament. The Golden Eagles completed three rounds of action with a cumulative team score of 849, 12 strokes in front of runner-up Stephen F. Austin. West Florida (865), Louisiana-Monroe (876), Wichita State (880), UNC-Greensboro (884), Louisiana-Lafayette (885) and Nebraska rounded out the top eight in the team standings.

Nebraska was paced on Tuesday by sophomore Judd Cornell who fired a career-best round of 69 on the par 72, 6,950-yard Hattiesburg CC layout. Cornell, a graduate of Omaha’s Millard West High School, completed three rounds of play at two-under 214, good for a tie for seventh, the second-best finish of his Husker career.

Husker senior J.J. Sullivan fired a 74 on Tuesday and finished three rounds of action at 221, good for a tie for 23rd place. Freshman Brady Schnell and senior Chris Hartwig each finished in a tie for 54th place with a 229 total. Schnell fired a 77 on Tuesday, while Hartwig fell back with an 81 in round three. Redshirt freshman Drew Reynolds finished in 62nd place after Tuesday’s 75 left him with a 236 total.

Stephen F. Austin’s Brian Grossman won a three-man playoff to capture the individual crown. Grossman, teammate Dustin Byrd and Michael Soroka of Southern Miss completed three rounds of play with 209 totals.

Nebraska is next in action on Feb. 28-29 at the Emerald Coast Classic at Tiger Point Country Club in Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Sam Hall Intercollegiate - Hattiesburg, Miss.; Hattiesburg CC
Par: 72; Yardage: 6,950
Final Team Standings
1. Southern Miss 285-288-276?849
2. Stephen F. Austin 297-282-282?861
3. West Florida 293-288-284?865
4. La.-Monroe 298-288-290?876
5. Wichita State 291-296-293?880
6. UNC-Greensboro 299-292-293?884
7. La.-Lafayette 298-289-298?885
8. Nebraska 302-290-295?887
9. Tulane 298-298-296?892
10. McNeese State 298-294-305?897
11. Samford 302-295-303?900
12. Troy State 304-305-308?917
Delta State 309-305-303?917

Nebraska Individuals
T7. Judd Cornell 71-74-69?214
T23. J.J. Sullivan 75-72-74?221
T54. Chris Hartwig 76-72-81?229
T54. Brady Schnell 80-72-77?229
62. Drew Reynolds 80-81-75?236

Top Five Individuals
1. Brian Grossman, Stephen F. Austin 73-69-67?209*
-- Dustin Byrd, Stephen F. Austin 73-67-69?209
-- Michael Sokora, Southern Miss 69-72-68?209
4. Judd Easterling, Wichita State 70-71-70?211
5. Shane Rushing, Southern Miss 70-73-70?213
--  Matt Wofford, Southern Miss 72-71-70?213

*-Won playoff