Huskers Open Season at Badger Invitational

A new-look Nebraska women’s golf team opens the 2024-25 season by traveling to the Badger Invitational at the University of Wisconsin, Sept. 8-10.

A Husker roster that features just three returning letterwinners and seven newcomers will try to get the fall campaign off to a good start at the University Ridge Golf Club in Verona, Wis. The Big Red will be part of a 13-team field that includes Big Ten foes Iowa, Rutgers and Wisconsin, along with Augusta, Delaware, FIU, St. Thomas, Sam Houston, South Dakota State, South Florida, UTSA and Yale.

The 54-hole event will feature single rounds each day, beginning on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. (CT) with tee times off 1 and 10 on a par-72, 6,297-yard layout at University Ridge.

Live scoring for the event will be available on Huskers.com from Scoreboard.

Arden Louchheim (pronounced LOCK-hime) earned the No. 1 spot in the Nebraska lineup during pre-tournament qualifying. The sophomore from Park City, Utah, competed in 30 rounds for the Huskers as a true freshman in 2023-24, ranking fifth on the team with a 75.73 stroke average on the year. During the summer, Louchheim was the runner-up at the 2024 Nebraska Women’s Amateur.

Newcomer Hannah Kono claimed the No. 2 position in qualifying. The sophomore from Enkoping, Sweden, transferred to Nebraska after taking sixth at the 2024 Horizon League Championships, while leading Oakland (Mich.) University to the conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA East Lansing Regional.

Another newcomer, Lauren Thiele (pronounced TEEL), captured the No. 3 lineup spot. The redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., spent her first two seasons at Wichita State before becoming the fourth Thiele sister to play golf for the Huskers. She produced a 76.80 stroke average for the Shockers over 20 rounds last season.

Nebraska’s two most experienced golfers, Miu Takahashi and Andrea Velez round out the Husker lineup in the 5-count-4 scoring format. Takahashi, a senior from Nasu-machi, Japan, is NU’s top returning golfer after ranking second on the 2023-24 team with a 73.91 stroke average. Takahashi has competed in 98.5 rounds for the Huskers over her first three seasons and ranks No. 3 in career stroke average (74.82) at Nebraska.

Velez, who is entering her fifth season for the Huskers, has played 43.5 rounds over the past three years. The senior from Pereira, Colombia, competed in 26.5 rounds as a sophomore to join Takahashi in helping Nebraska qualify for 2023 NCAA Regional play.

Badger Invitational
Verona, Wisconsin
University Ridge Golf Club (Par 72, 6,306 Yards)

Schedule
Sunday, Sept. 8 (Round 1) - 9 a.m. (CT) - Tee Times (1 & 10)
Monday, Sept. 9 (Round 2) - 9 a.m. (CT) - Tee Times (1 & 10)
Tuesday, Sept. 10 (Round 3) - 9 a.m. (CT) - Shotgun

Live Scoring: Scoreboard.clippd.com

Participating Teams (13)
Augusta, Delaware, FIU, Iowa, Nebraska, Rutgers, St. Thomas, Sam Houston, South Dakota State, South Florida, UTSA, Wisconsin, Yale

 

Nebraska Lineup
1. Arden Louchheim, So., Park City, Utah
2. Hannah Kono, So., Enkoping, Sweden
3. Lauren Thiele, RSo., Wahoo, Neb.
4. Miu Takahashi, Sr., Nasu-machi, Japan
5. Andrea Velez, Sr., Pereira, Colombia
Individual - Symran Shah, RSo., Carrollton, Texas

Sutherland Leads Third Husker Team in Hunt for Regional Appearance

Nebraska Head Coach Jeanne Sutherland has helped at least one Husker golfer to an NCAA Regional appearance in all three of her seasons at Nebraska, including the past two seasons as head coach.

Sutherland, who spent one season as Nebraska’s associate head coach (2021-22), was named head coach on May 5, 2022. She came to Nebraska after spending 10 seasons (2011-21) as the head coach at SMU. She previously spent 15 seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M (1992-2007). She has led 19 teams to NCAA Regional qualification.

Sutherland has coached three All-Americans, five individual conference champions and three conference players of the year.

In 2018, Sutherland was named the inaugural winner of the WGCA Kim Evans Award. She also earned the WGCA Founders Award in 2017. A four-time conference coach of the year at Texas A&M (3 Big 12, 1 Southwest Conference), Sutherland was also a two-time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year (1997, 2007). She led 13 Texas A&M teams to NCAA Regional play, including four NCAA Championship appearances in 1997 (17th), 2004 (24th), 2005 (22nd) and 2006 (19th).

Sutherland coached SMU to five straight NCAA bids (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).

Takahashi Headlines Group of Five Returning Huskers in 2024-25
Nebraska’s most experienced golfer, Miu Takahashi leads the Huskers into the 2024-25 season. The senior from Nasu-machi, Japan, ranks third in NU history with a 74.82 stroke average over 98.5 career rounds entering her fourth season in the Big Red lineup.

Takahashi was a key player in helping the Huskers qualify for the 2023 NCAA Raleigh Regional, posting a 73.49 stroke average over 37.5 rounds as a sophomore.

She owns nine career top-25 finishes, including five top-10 showings with her first career tournament title at the 2022 Dale McNamara Invitational.

Takahashi was also the first international golfer to be named the Nebraska Women’s Amateur of the Year in 2023, after winning the 49th Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship.

She also qualified for the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2023, carding rounds of 78 and 73 in Los Angeles.

Takahashi produced a 73.91 stroke average over 32 rounds in 2023-24, including a career-best 211 (-5) to tie for 29th at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 25-26).

Nebraska’s four other returning golfers for the 2024-25 season include fifth-year senior Andrea Velez, redshirt junior/graduate student Brooke Bream, sophomore Arden Louchheim and redshirt freshman Mackenzie Bream.

Those four Huskers have combined for 79.5 collegiate rounds.

Trio of Transfers Ready to Make Instant Impact for the Big Red
Division I transfers Hannah Kono (Oakland), Lauren Thiele (Wichita State) and Symran Shah (Virginia Tech) earned spots among Nebraska’s top six golfers in qualifying for the season-opening Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-10).

Kono, who finished sixth at the 2024 Horizon League Championships, was Nebraska’s No. 2 qualifier. The sophomore from Enkoping, Sweden, was a two-time Horizon League Golfer of the Week during the spring season while helping the Golden Grizzlies win the conference tournament title and qualify for 2024 NCAA Regional play.

Thiele was the No. 2 golfer for the Shockers with a 76.07 spring stroke average last season. The redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., earned Nebraska’s No. 3 position in pre-tournament qualifying for the Badger Invitational. She continues the richest family tradition in Nebraska women’s golf as the fourth sister to earn a lineup spot for the Huskers, following her older sisters, Haley (2016-20), Hannah (2018-20) and Lindsey (2021-24). The 2024-25 campaign marks the 10th consecutive season that a Thiele sister has been on the Big Red roster.

Shah comes to Lincoln after a redshirt season at Virginia Tech in 2023-24. The redshirt sophomore from Carrollton, Texas, played two rounds for the Hokies as a freshman in 2022-23. Shah’s older sister, Serena, played for Coach Jeanne Sutherland at SMU.

Four Talented Freshmen Preparing to Contribute for Huskers in 2024-25
Nebraska’s freshman class features the top high school golfer in Iowa, one of the best young golfers in Nebraska, an all-state golfer from Texas and a talented player from Illinois.

The four youngest Huskers combined for four individual state championships and five state team titles during their prep careers.

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

Four-time Nebraska Class C all-state choice Olivia Lovegrove from Lincoln Christian High School has been a rising star in the Cornhusker State. 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. In the summer of 2024, Lovegrove was the Nebraska Girls Amateur runner-up.

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.

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.

Huskers Replacing Three of Top Five Golfers From 2024-25 Campaign
In order to earn its third NCAA Regional bid in five seasons, the Huskers must successfully replace three of their top-five golfers from a year ago, including two-time NCAA Regional-qualifier Kelli Ann Strand.

Strand, a two-time All-Big Ten choice, bypassed her final two seasons of collegiate eligibility to pursue a professional career.

Strand, who was also a two-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, has made four cuts in five starts on the Epson Tour. She has made $14,100, including a tie for seventh in her first career top-10 finish at the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich. (June 21-23). She opened with a tie for 12th at the Copper Rock Championship in Hurricane, Utah (May 16-18) and added a tie for 25th at the Otter Creek Championship in Columbus, Ind. (June 14-16).

The Huskers also lost four-year starters Michaela Vavrova and Lindsey Thiele to graduation.

Vavrova competed in 112.5 rounds while helping the Huskers to NCAA Regional appearances in 2021 and 2023. She produced a 75.70 career stroke average, including a career-best 74.48 average over 29 rounds a year ago. She was a two-time Slovakian Player of the Year (2022, 2023).

Thiele added 94.5 rounds over the past four seasons, including a career-best 74.04 stroke average as a senior. The four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American helped the Huskers to NCAA Regional bids in 2021 and 2023, while also earning a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship. She was also Nebraska’s Female Heart & Soul Award winner as the most dedicated student-athlete across all sports to Nebraska’s Life Skills program.

Nebraska Owns Four-Year Streak with NCAA Regional Presence
Kelli Ann Strand’s 2024 NCAA Cle Elum Regional bid marked the fourth consecutive year that the Nebraska women’s golf program had at least one representative in NCAA Regional competition. Her tie for 24th marked Nebraska’s best individual regional finish since 2008.

In 2023, Nebraska qualified as a team to the NCAA Raleigh Regional, which marked Nebraska’s 13th all-time NCAA Regional berth dating back to the 1994 NCAA West Regional.

The Huskers, who finished ninth at the 12-team NCAA Raleigh Regional, also competed at the 2021 NCAA Columbus Regional, tying for 15th in an 18-team field in Ohio.

In 2022, Kirsten Baete represented Nebraska at the NCAA Stanford Regional. Baete tied for 30th with a three-round total of 220 (75-76-69).

The Huskers made regional appearances in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2021.

Nebraska’s highest regional finish came with a fifth-place finish in a 21-team field at the 2003 NCAA Central Regional at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln. The Huskers advanced to NCAA Championship appearances in 2000 (19th), 2003 (22nd) and 2006 (20th).

Huskers Set Pace in Classroom
Nebraska leads the Big Ten and ranks second in NCAA Division I with 362 College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans all-time across all sports. The Huskers also lead all schools in history with 18 NCAA Top 10 Award winners across all sports.

Nebraska women’s golf leads the nation with 98 WGCA Scholastic All-Americans since 1989, including four in 2023-24. Lena Hassert, Arden Louchheim, Kelli Ann Strand and Lindsey Thiele all earned WGCA honors in 2023-24. In addition, transfers Hannah Kono and Lauren Thiele earned WGCA Scholastic All-America awards last season at their schools.

Husker women’s golf owns a 100 percent  graduation success rate.