Nebraska Continues Spring Slate in Texas

The Nebraska men's golf team hopes to continue its spring improvement this weekend at the Pepsi-Cola Invitational in Pottsboro, Texas. The 54-hole tournament is hosted by Northern Illinois University and will be played at the Tanglewood Resort. Tournament action gets underway with 36 holes on Saturday, beginning with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. The third and final round will be played on Sunday, with action beginning at 8 a.m.

The Huskers finished eighth last weekend in a strong field at the Steve Kerr Invitational in Buckeye, Ariz. The Huskers battled back from a disappointing first round and moved up the leaderboard with solid play in the final two rounds.

Scouting the Field
Nebraska should be among the favorites in the nine-team field this weekend. According to GolfWeek, Texas State is the top-ranked team in the field at 97th nationally. Nebraska is 125th in the GolfWeek listing this week.

About the Huskers
Coach Bill Spangler's squad appears to be rounding into form. After a slow start with a 313 in the first round of the Steve Kerr Invitational the Huskers responded with team scores of 289 and 297 in the final two rounds.

The Huskers have added depth after the recent emergence of freshman Tom Bethel, who has competed as an individual in Nebraska's last two tournaments. Bethel finished a team-best 13th in last week's tournament, paced by a second-round 66, the lowest round by a Nebraska player in the past two seasons. Bethel was Nebraska's third-highest finisher earlier this season at the Emerald Coast Collegiate, also playing as an individual. The three-time member of the Bahamian National team now owns a 75.91 stroke average in 11 rounds this season.

Bethel's stellar play has earned him the No. 1 spot in the lineup for this week's tournament. The rest of the Husker lineup for the Pepsi-Cola Invitational includes Judd Cornell (No. 2), J.J. Sullivan (No. 3), Brady Schnell (No. 4) and Drew Reynolds (No. 5). Chris Hartwig and Kent Schreiner will compete as individuals in Texas.

Schnell has again began to show the outstanding ability he displayed early in the fall season. The freshman from Millard West High School has posted top 25 finishes in each of Nebraska's last two tournaments, after recording top-20 finishes in each of his first three collegiate tournaments last fall.

Steve Kerr Invitational Recap
Nebraska battled back from a slow start to finish in a tie for eighth place at the Steve Kerr Invitational on March 19-20 in Buckeye, Ariz. The Huskers opened with a 313 team score at Sundance Golf Club, but responded with a 289 in the afternoon round. Nebraska completed the tournament with a 297 on Saturday, and its 899 total left it in a tie for eighth with Princeton and Iowa State.

Individually, Tom Bethel finished in 13th place at 219, while competing as an individual. Bethel fired a career-low 66 in the second round, matching the low round of the tournament. Brady Schnell finished in a tie for 22nd at 223, while redshirt freshman Drew Reynolds completed three rounds at 225 and tied for 30th.