Huskers Aim for Return to NCAA Regional

A new-look Nebraska lineup will take aim at its third NCAA Regional bid in the past five seasons, when the Husker women’s golf team hits the course for the 2024-25 campaign.

Jeanne Sutherland, who enters her third season at the helm of the Huskers, will try to guide her team to a 20th NCAA Regional berth as a head coach.

In her first season leading the Huskers in 2022-23, Sutherland led the Big Red to the NCAA Raleigh Regional. Last season, Nebraska just missed out on a regional appearance, while Kelli Ann Strand captured an NCAA Regional berth after capturing All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive season.

However, Strand chose to pursue a professional career early and the Huskers also lost veteran contributors Lindsey Thiele and Michaela Vavrova to graduation. The 2024-25 Nebraska lineup must also replace part-time contributors Sydney Harz and Lena Hassert.

Although the Big Red must fill the voids left by five letterwinners, including three of its top four golfers from 2023-24, Sutherland is confident Nebraska’s roster has the firepower to shoot the Huskers back to NCAA Regional competition.

Miu Takahashi will likely anchor Nebraska’s lineup in 2024-25. The senior from Nasu-machi, Japan enters her fourth year as a regular in the Husker lineup. Last season, Takahashi ranked second among the Huskers with a 73.91 stroke average over 32 rounds. She owns a 74.82 stroke average over 98.5 career rounds, which ranks as the No. 3 average in Nebraska history.

Takahashi’s consistency and her ability to go low have helped produce nine career top-25 finishes, including five top-10 performances through her first three seasons. She captured a tournament title as a sophomore at the 2022 Dale McNamara Invitational.

Arden Louchheim joins Takahashi as a returning golfer to the Nebraska lineup. The sophomore from Park City, Utah, ranked fifth among the Huskers with a solid 75.73 stroke average as a true freshman in 2023-24. Louchheim competed in 30 rounds and performed well both on and off the course. The three-time Utah Class 2A state champion and the 2023 Utah Girls Amateur Champion was a 2024 WGCA Scholastic All-American.

With a year of collegiate experience under her belt, the Huskers are hoping to see Louchheim regularly climb the leader board during the 2024-25 campaign.

Nebraska’s third returning letterwinner is fifth-year Husker Andrea Velez. The three-time letterwinner carries a 76.92 stroke average over 43.5 career rounds. The senior from Pereira, Colombia competed in just eight rounds a year ago, but the 2023 WGCA Scholastic All-America owns a pair of top-25 finishes in her career.

Brooke Bream enters her fourth season at Nebraska hunting for her first significant lineup time. A late-comer to golf during the pandemic, Bream has competed as an individual at one tournament each of the past two seasons. In the classroom, Bream has performed at a high level, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors in both 2023 and 2024 before claiming her bachelor’s degree in economics in May of 2024. The redshirt junior from Phoenix, Ariz., has two years of eligibility remaining on the course as she pursue’s a master’s degree at Nebraska.

Brooke’s younger sister, Mackenzie, also returns to the Big Red roster. Mackenzie Bream redshirted a year ago and hopes to contend for her first playing time in the Husker lineup along with seven other talented newcomers in 2024-25.

Sophomore Hannah Kono along with redshirt sophomores Symran Shah and Lauren Thiele are leading contenders as transfers to fill lineup spots for the Huskers.

Kono, a second-year collegiate golfer from Enkoping, Sweden, finished sixth individually to help Oakland (Mich.) University to the 2024 Horizon League Championship. At the NCAA East Lansing Regional, Kono tied for 41st as an individual to close her freshman season with a 75.85 stroke average over 27 rounds. The two-time Horizon League Golfer of the Week was also a WGCA Scholastic All-American in 2024.

“We’re very excited to add Hannah to our team,” Sutherland said. “She has the desire to be a great player and has experience at both the college and international levels. She’s one of those players who loves to spend her day at the golf course and enjoys every aspect of the game.”

Shah comes to Lincoln after redshirting in her second season at Virginia Tech in 2023-24. The redshirt sophomore from Carrolltown, Texas, was the 2021 First Tee National Champion before competing in two rounds for the Hokies as a true freshman in 2022-23.

“We’re very excited for Symran to join our team,” Sutherland said. “I watched her play a lot of golf when she was in high school, and she is a focused competitor and a very skilled player. Her sister Serena played for me at SMU, so I’m familiar with the support her family brings to her and to our team. I know it’s a great fit.”

Thiele also brings a strong family connection to Sutherland and Nebraska. The fourth Thiele sister to compete in women’s golf for the Huskers, following Haley (2016-20), Hannah (2018-20) and Lindsey (2020-24), Lauren spent her first two collegiate seasons at Wichita State. As a redshirt freshman in 2023-24, Lauren Thiele produced a 76.80 stroke average over 20 rounds. She was WSU’s No. 2 golfer during the spring, when she notched a 76.07 average over 15 rounds, while continuing another family tradition as a WGCA Scholastic All-American.

“We’re happy that Lauren Thiele is coming back home to be a Husker,” Sutherland said. “Lauren brings power, athleticism and the desire to develop into a great player. She is a great person and will make us a better team.”

The four members of Nebraska’s freshman class also could make immediate impacts.

Four-time Iowa High School Athletic Union Player-of-the-Year Eden Lohrbach was a three-time Iowa Class 3A state individual champion at Ames High School.

“Eden will make an immediate impact on our team,” Sutherland said. “She loves the game of golf. She knows how to score, and plays her best when it matters most. She went undefeated as a junior in high school golf, and that speaks to her competitiveness and focus on the course. She is very excited to join the Huskers and do her best to help us win tournaments.”

Bridget Butler (Barrington, Ill.) and Danica Lundgren (Austin, Texas) also bring strong credentials to Nebraska. Butler was a three-time all-conference and all-regional golfer while helping Barrington High School to a Class 2A state championship in 2021.

“Bridget is a tremendous athlete who has the ability to grow into a leader at Nebraska,” Sutherland said. “She has a strong work ethic and the desire to help the Huskers win championships. She brings a strong team spirit and love of competition to the team.”

Lundgren was the 2023 Southern Texas PGA Junior Golfer of the Year and captured 55 Southern Texas PGA titles from 2015 to 2023. She was also a first-team Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A all-state selection in 2023 at Vandegrift High School. She helped Vandegrift to state team championships in 2023 and 2024.

“Danica is the type of player we love at Nebraska,” Sutherland said. “She helped her team win two state championships, which makes her one of five players in our incoming class who won state high school team titles.”

Four-time Nebraska Class C all-state choice Olivia Lovegrove from Lincoln Christian High School rounds out the Husker newcomers. The 2022 Class C individual state champion, Lovegrove added a runner-up individual finish as a senior in 2023. She was also a three-time Nebraska Super-State selection.

“Olivia has been a dominant player in Lincoln and the state of Nebraska,” Sutherland said. “She loves Nebraska and has worked hard to be the best player she can be to help us be a better team. She is strong in the classroom and a wonderful person. We are looking forward to her being a Husker.”

The Huskers open the season at the Badger Invitational at University Ridge Golf Club in Verona, Wis. (Sept. 8-10), before traveling to Texas for the Red Raider Invitational at the Rawls Course in Lubbock (Sept. 24-25). Nebraska returns to Texas for the Jim West Challenge at Kissing Tree Golf Club in San Marcos (Oct. 20-21), before closing the fall at the Hurricane Invitational at the Biltmore Golf Club in Miami (Oct. 28-29).

Nebraska jumps into a busy spring by returning to Florida for the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando (Feb. 2-4).

The Big Red then make back-to-back trips to Arizona, beginning with the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria (Feb. 23-24), before heading to Tucson for the MountainView Collegiate at the Preserve Golf Course (March 2-4).

Nebraska returns to Florida for the Spring Break Shootout at the Lake Jovita Golf Club in Dade City (March 17-18), before traveling to South Carolina for the Clemson Invitational at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset (March 28-30).

The Huskers close the regular season by competing at the Maryland Invitational on the University of Maryland Golf Course in College Park (April 6-7), before returning to Maryland for the Big Ten Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Club in Havre de Grace (April 18-20).

The Big Red will learn its 2025 NCAA Regional fate during the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday, April 23, before NCAA competition is held May 5-7 at six regional sites around the country (Charlottesville, Va.; Columbus, Ohio; Golf Canyon, Ariz.; Lexington, Ky.; Lubbock, Texas; Norman, Okla.).

The NCAA Championship returns to the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif. (May 16-21).