Huskers Hit the Road to Open Season

When: Monday, Sept. 16 - Tuesday, Sept. 17
Where: The Club at Old Hawthorne, Columbia, Mo.
Course Par: 72
Course Yardage: 7,221
Format: 54 holes

• Monday: 36 holes starting at 8 a.m. CT (Shotgun)
• Tuesday: 18 holes starting at 8 a.m. CT (Shotgun)

Scoring: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=4628
Course Website: OldHawthorne.com
Daily Results and Recap: www.huskers.com
NU Media Relations Contact: Connor Stange (402-560-3758)
Email Address: cstange@huskers.com

Official Pairings - First and Second Rounds
Group 1: Missouri, Tulsa, Kansas State
Group 2: Austin Peay, Iowa State, Ole Miss
Group 3: Nebraska, San Francisco, Louisiana
Group 4: South Alabama, Memphis, Individuals
Group 5: Missouri Individuals

Nebraska Lineup
1. Aaron Wong (So.)
2. Ross Dickson (Jr.)
3. Kolton Lapa (So.)
4. Nathan Wong (RFr.)
5. Matt Record (Sr.)

The Nebraska men’s golf team begins its season on the road for the first time since 2007 at the NCAA Columbia Regional Preview on Monday and Tuesday at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo.

The Club at Old Hawthorne is a par-72, 7,221-yard layout that will host the 54-hole tournament. Monday’s first round is a shotgun start at 8 a.m. CT, with the second round immediately afterwards. The field of 11 teams is divided into five groups for the first day. Groups will be rearranged for Tuesday’s 8 a.m. start following Monday’s action.

The Huskers are in Group 3 along with San Francisco and Louisiana. Additional teams in the field include Missouri, Tulsa, Kansas State, Austin Peay, Iowa State, Ole Miss, South Alabama and Memphis. Scoring for the NCAA Columbia Regional Preview is on Golfstat.com at the link provided above. Missouri’s athletic website (mutigers.com) will also have results after each round.

Sophomore Aaron Wong represents the No. 1 spot in the lineup for Nebraska this week. Wong started last season red-hot with a second-round 68 in the season-opening Fairway Club Invitational en route to a tie for seventh.

Ross Dickson will join Wong in the NU lineup as the No. 2 position. Dickson, a junior, played in six stroke play events last season and earned two top-10 finishes.

Nebraska’s stroke average leader from 2012-13, Kolton Lapa, begins his sophomore season as No. 3 for the Huskers. Lapa was the only golfer on the team to appear in every tournament last season and finished his freshman campaign with a 74.27 stroke average over 33 rounds.

Aaron’s brother Nathan Wong is set to tee it up for the first time in scarlet and cream in Columbia. Wong redshirted last season for the Huskers.

The lone senior in the lineup is Matt Record, who competed in 30 rounds last season for a 74.73 stroke average. Record garnered three top-10 finishes in his first season with Nebraska in 2012-13.

Recaps following each day’s action will be available on Huskers.com.

Offseason Notes:
Ex-Husker Cornell Hired as Assistant Coach
Nebraska Head Coach Bill Spangler announced the addition of former Husker Judd Cornell to his coaching staff on Friday, Aug. 9. Cornell, who lettered for Spangler’s Huskers from 2003 to 2006, started working with the men’s golf team on Aug. 19.

“I am excited that Judd has accepted my offer to join our program and be my assistant coach,” Spangler said. “He brings valuable experience as a former collegiate golfer and student-athlete. Since he has played professionally full-time since 2007, Judd knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level and can use his knowledge and experience to benefit our student-athletes.”

Cornell’s professional golfing experience includes playing in events on the Web.com Tour, Dakotas Tour, Adams Golf Pro Tour, Tar Heel Tour and Atlas Pro Tour. In addition, he has worked with instructors Mike Bender, Mac O’Grady and James Sieckmann.

While playing at Nebraska, Cornell compiled a career stroke average of 74.95 and earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2004. In that same year the Omaha native shared Nebraska Amateur Golfer-of-the-Year accolades with Lincoln’s A.J. Elgert.

Ex-Husker Crick Plays in U.S. Open
Former Husker Brandon Crick competed in the 113th U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club (East Course) in Ardmore, Pa., but missed the cut after two rounds on Friday, June 14.

Crick, a McCook, Neb. native, shot 81 in the first round and 78 in the second round for a 19-over-par 159 total after 36 holes.

In the first round, Crick opened with a par on the 11th. He made bogeys on 12, 17 and 18 to play his first eight holes in 3-over-par. Following pars on Holes 1 and 2, Crick bogeyed 3, 4, 6 and 7, with double bogeys on Nos. 5 and 8. He closed with pars on 9 and 10 for his 11-over-par first-round total.

In the second round, Crick double-bogeyed Hole No. 1 but responded with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3. He added a par on the par-5 fourth hole but suffered back-to-back bogeys on 5 and 6. Crick closed the front nine with pars on 7 and 8 before bogeying the par-3 ninth hole.

Crick started the back nine with a bogey but parred the 11th. He double bogeyed Hole No. 12 and made bogeys on 14 and 15 but parred 13, 16, 17 and 18 to close out the round.

Crick, who lettered for Nebraska in 2009 and 2010, advanced to the U.S. Open following sectional qualifying and local qualifying. Crick was one of two qualifiers who posted 3-under-par 69 at Shadow Ridge Country Club in Omaha, Neb., in the local qualifier on May 14. He was one of nine competitors to advance from the sectional site at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tenn., on June 3. Crick fired 70 and 68 at the 36-hole event.

2012-13 Season in Review
Nebraska captured the season-opening Fairway Club Invitational title and added eight additional top-10 finishes in 2012-13 as newcomers Kolton Lapa and Matt Record emerged as leaders for the team.

Lapa was the lone Husker to compete in every tournament in Head Coach Bill Spangler’s 12th season at the helm, averaging 74.27 strokes per round over 33 rounds. Lapa led NU in five of its 11 stroke play events in 2012-13, earning two Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week awards in the process.

Fellow Arizona native Record led the team in four stroke play events and added a perfect 3-0-0 mark at the Big Ten Match Play in February. Record played in every tournament except for the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate, averaging 74.73 strokes over 30 rounds.

Manuel Lavin and Jordan Reinertson each appeared in nine rounds, while Ross Dickson and Neil Dufford each made seven appearances. Kevin Gillick added six starts for the Huskers, including a tie for first at the Fairway Club Invitational.

NU compiled a 297.52 stroke average in 2012-13, often playing its best golf in the second round. The Huskers’ second-round scoring average was 294.91, while the first and third rounds were 301.73 and 295.50, respectively.

Off the Tee:
• For the first time since 2007, the Huskers start the season on the road. Nebraska hosted the Fairway Club Invitational at ArborLinks Golf Course in Nebraska City, Neb. from 2008 to 2012. The Fairway Club Invitational was also played from 1999 to 2005 at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb. NU will not host a tournament in 2013-14.

• Sophomore Kolton Lapa is making his 13th collegiate start after competing in all 12 tournaments as a freshman last season for the Huskers. Lapa, a Mesa, Ariz. native, led the team with a 74.27 stroke average over 33 rounds in 2013-14 and garnered three top-10 finishes. He twice earned Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honors: Oct. 24, 2012 and Feb. 27, 2013.

• Redshirt freshman Nathan Wong is making his first appearance for the Huskers at the NCAA Columbia Regional Preview. Wong, whose brother is NU sophomore Aaron Wong, redshirted last season for Nebraska.

• The Huskers have two consecutive top-10 finishes, dating back to last season. Nebraska concluded the 2012-13 campaign with a ninth-place result at the Big Ten Championships after taking fifth place at the Hawkeye Invitational. In all, NU managed nine top-10 finishes in 11 stroke play events during 2012-13.

• Four newcomers join the Huskers in 2013-14:

1. Mike Siwa is a senior this season after transferring from South Mountain Community College, where he played baseball. Siwa attended high school at Omaha Burke.
2. Calvin Freeman transferred from Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Neb., where he twice earned first-team NJCAA All-America honors. Freeman, a Table Rock, Neb. native, went to high school at Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer and placed in the state golf top 10 all four years.
3. Ian Hagener played high school golf at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. and begins his freshman season in 2013-14.
4. Justin Jennings comes to Nebraska after golfing at Canyon Randall High School in Amarillo, Texas.

• Nebraska is set to make four appearances this fall following the NCAA Columbia Regional Preview. Sept. 23-24, the Huskers travel to Erie, Colo. for the Mark Simpson CU Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club. Following a two-week break from competition, NU returns at the Firestone Intercollegiate, Oct. 7-8, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Two weeks later Nebraska heads to Las Cruces, N.M. for the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, Oct. 21-22. The fall season concludes three days later at the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational at Butterfield Trail Golf Club in El Paso, Texas.

• In the spring, the Huskers have seven tournaments scheduled, including the Big Ten Championships, May 2-4, at the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind. NU opens its spring season Feb. 7-8 at the Big Ten Match Play in Bradenton, Fla., before trips to Palm Desert, Calif.; Aiken, S.C.; Goodyear, Ariz.; Iowa City, Iowa; and Rochester, N.Y.

• Under Head Coach Bill Spangler, who is in his 13th season, the Nebraska men’s golf team has won 10 tournament titles. Spangler has also guided the Huskers to 30 top-three tournament finishes and six individual titles.

• The Nebraska men’s golf program has four NCAA Championship appearances along with seven NCAA Regional starts. In every season from 2010 to 2012, the Huskers sent one individual to the NCAA Regionals. Scott Willman tied for 40th at the Norman Regional (2012), Andrew Wyatt tied for 41st at the Colorado Regional (2011) and Brandon Crick tied for eighth at the West Regional (2010).