Huskers Open Spring with Big Ten Match Play

The Nebraska men's golf team heads south to begin their spring season in Palm Coast, Fla. for Big Ten Match Play Feb. 3-4. The two-day tournament will be played on the Hammock Beach Resort and its Par-72, 6,981-yard layout. Alongside Nebraska, the two-day tournament includes host Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, and Rutgers. 

First round pairings are based on GolfStat rankings as of Nov. 15, 2022. Nebraska, with their ranking of 73rd, will be the four seed and will play two seed Michigan State (55) in their Friday morning practice round, which tees off with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. (CT). In the afternoon, they will play five seed Minnesota (82) at 12 p.m. (CT) for their first match. Saturday's opponents will be based off Friday's results.

Jeremy Sisson leads the Big Red lineup, which features a strong group of veteran leaders and impact newcomers. Sisson, the junior from Skaneateles, N.Y., was one Nebraska's top performers in the fall, producing a 72.73 stroke average and setting career-highs in multiple categories, including a 68 (-4) and a sixth-place finish at the White Sands Invitational on October 30, 2022. He capped off his year with a win at the Dixie Amateur in Coral Gables, Fla. on December 17, where he led wire-to-wire and finished four rounds under par to secure the victory. Additionally, in the second round of the New Year's Invitational in St. Petersburg, Fla., he also tied his career-best, notching a 68 (-4) to help him place 14th.  

Will Marshall (Elburn, Ill.) and Caleb Badura (Aurora, Neb.) are two seniors who will also be competing in Big Ten Match Play. Marshall competed in every round in the fall for Nebraska, where he achieved a 73.45 stroke average in 11 rounds. Meanwhile, Badura will make his 2022-23 debut after missing the fall. His presence and leadership will no doubt provide a boost for the Husker lineup, as the sixth-year senior has been one of Nebraska's most steady performers in his career, with a 75.50 stroke average over three seasons.  

Reed Malleck, who also missed time in the fall, returned from injury at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational and played some of the best golf of his career. On the first day of the tournament, Malleck (York, Neb.) recorded a 69 (-3), a new career best. He also achieved his best 54-hole score in his career, notching a 219 (+3). Malleck will look to build on his success and momentum at Big Ten Match Play, where he went 3-0 last year on the same course. 

The Huskers will have to replace arguably their top performer from the fall. Harry Crockett, the native of Oxted, England, will be away from the team this spring. Crockett, the former NJCAA All-American, accumulated a 71.82 stroke average in 11 rounds in the fall, which included a third-place finish at the Purdue Fall Invite on October 11. "I know we have some guys ready to step up and I can't wait to have Harry back next fall," head coach Judd Cornell said.

Two guys that will be expected to step up in his place will be Evan McDermott (Spring Lake, Mich.) and Quinn Yost (Farmington, N.M.), both true freshmen. Both have established themselves in the Husker lineup and will look to take big steps forward in their first spring action. McDermott carded a career-best 67 (-5) in the final round of the fall at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational on October 30, 2022, capping off his fall season with a 74.00 stroke average in eight rounds. Yost also competed in eight rounds, with a 74.50 stroke average. 

Big Ten Match Play
Friday, Feb. 3 - Saturday, Feb. 4
Location: Palm Coast, Florida
Course: Hammock Beach Ocean Course (Par 72, 6,981 Yards)
Host: Indiana

*Seedings Based on GolfStat.com Rankings
Participating Teams 
1. Northwestern (38)
2. Michigan State (55)
3. Indiana (66)
4. Nebraska (73)
5. Minnesota (82)
6. Rutgers (92)
7. Penn State (97)
8. Michigan (109)
9. Maryland (189)

Friday, Feb. 3rd
Morning Matches
#2 Michigan State vs #4 Nebraska *Practice Round
(1) #7 Penn State vs  #8 Michigan
#1 Northwestern vs  #6 Rutgers
#3 Indiana vs #5 Minnesota 
Maryland -- Practice

Afternoon Matches
(2) #1 Northwestern vs. #9 Maryland
(3) #4 Nebraska vs. #5 Minnesota
(4) #3 Indiana vs. #6 Rutgers
(5) #2 Michigan State vs. Northwestern/Maryland Winner
Loser of Penn State vs. Michigan Sits Out

Saturday, Feb. 4th
Morning Matches
(6) Match 2 Winner vs Match 3 Winner
(7) Match 4 Winner vs Match 5 Winner
(8) Match 1 Loser vs Match 2 Loser
(9) Match 3 Loser vs Match 4 Loser
Match 5 Loser Sits Out

Afternoon Matches
Championship: (10) Match 6 Winner vs Match 7 Winner 
3rd Place: (11) Match 6 Loser vs Match 7 Loser
(12) Match 8 Winner vs Match 9 Winner
(13) Match 5 loser vs Match 8 Loser
Match 9 Loser sits out

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Nebraska Golfers
Jeremy Sisson
Will Marshall
Reed Malleck
Evan McDermott
Quinn Yost
Caleb Badura 

Huskers Set Multiple Records to Close Fall
Harry Crockett fired a final round 67 (-5) and Jeremy Sisson were among the multiple Huskers who set career-highs to lead the Nebraska men's golf team to a season-best 13 strokes under par and a new fall season stroke average at the White Sands Invitational on Sunday, Oct. 30. 

Nebraska opened the tournament by matching its best round of the fall season with a 280 (-8). After a second round 288 (E), a final-round 283 (-3) was not enough for the Huskers, but their three-round score of 851 (-13) set a new record for fall season stroke average. Nebraska's mark of 289.64 beat the previous record average of 290.67, which was set in Fall 2021.

Despite the records being set, Nebraska was unable to keep up with tournament champions Duke. The nationally ranked Blue Devils finished with an astonishing three-round aggregate score of 823 (-41). However, there was only a four-stroke difference between third place Arkansas State (-17) and Nebraska (-13). 

Moving Forward
The Huskers will head west, traveling to Palm Springs, Calif. for two weeks, beginning with two practice rounds Feb. 11-12 on the PGA West Golf Course before heading to the Greg Norman Course for The Prestige, hosted by Stanford and running through Feb. 20-22. Then, the Huskers will head to Arizona, compete in the Desert Mountain Collegiate in Scottsdale March 4-5 before a Husker alumni event on March 14-18, also in Scottsdale.