Nebraska Continues Fall Season in Ohio

The Nebraska men's golf team will travel east for next week's Xavier Invitational, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in the greater Cincinnati area. The 16-team field will begin play with 36 holes on Monday, followed by the final 18 holes on Tuesday at the Oasis Golf Club in Loveland, Ohio.

Nebraska Coach Bill Spangler said the large field presents the Huskers with excellent competition. The Huskers will also face some teams that are not regular opponents on the schedule, allowing Nebraska to better gauge itself on a national level.

Three teams in the Xavier Invitational field are ranked in the nation's top 40, according to the GolfChannel.com's collegiate rankings. Wisconsin is the highest-ranked team in the field, checking in at No. 36, followed by Indiana (37) and Louisville (40). Host school Xavier (52), St. Mary's (61) and Nebraska (63) are other teams in the field in the nations' top 75 according to the Golf Channel.

Nebraska will be looking to continue its early-season momentum. The Huskers have finished in the top five at their first three fall tournaments, including a first-place finish at the Fairway Club Invitational in mid-September. The Huskers had a week off after a fifth-place finish at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Colorado. Spangler said the Huskers have had good practice sessions in the past week, and the internal competition within the team continues to be strong.

The Husker lineup for the Xavier Invitational will be headed by junior Judd Cornell who will play the number one spot in the lineup. Cornell has a team-best 73.2 stroke average and has finished 17th or higher in the season's first three tournaments. Seven of Cornell's nine tournament rounds this fall have been 75 or lower.

The remainder of the Huskers lineup will include sophomores Brady Schnell (No. 2), Tom Bethel (3) and Drew Reynolds (5), as well as true freshman Tyler Bishop (4). Schnell has two top-10 finishes this fall and carries a 74.4 stroke average, while Reynolds has been a solid performer and is second on the team in stroke average at 74.1 per round.

The Xavier Invitational is the fourth of six fall tournaments for the Huskers. Nebraska continues its fall slate on Oct. 18-19 at the Squire Creek Invitational, hosted by Louisiana Tech.

Ron Moore Intercollegiate Recap

Nebraska finished fifth in the 16-team field at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, hosted by Denver University on Sept. 27-28. The Huskers sat in second place after two rounds of play, including a team season-low 283 in the second round. The Huskers were not able to hold their position in the final round, falling back three spots with a 296 score to finish three rounds of play at 870.

Individually, Schnell and Cornell both finished in a tie for 10th place with three-round totals of even-par 216. Bethel was next in line for the Huskers finishing in a tie for 29th place. The tournament marked Nebraska's third straight top-five team finish to open the 2004-05 campaign.

This Week's Tournament

Event

Xavier Invitational

Dates

Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 11-12

Course, Location

Oasis Golf Club, Loveland, Ohio

Format

54 holes, 36 holes Monday, 18 Tuesday

Tournament Host

Xavier University

Field

Nebraska, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Davidson, E. Kentucky, E. Michigan, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville, Marshall, Richmond, St. Mary's, UNC-Greensboro, W. Kentucky, Wisconsin, Wright State, Xavier