Huskers Return to Texas for Jim West Challenge

The Nebraska women’s golf team returns to the course after a nearly four-week break from competition when the Huskers travel to Texas for the Jim West Challenge, Oct. 20-21.

The Huskers will be part of a 12-team field that features six schools from the state of Texas, including the hosts from Texas State along with TCU, Texas Tech, Houston, North Texas and UTSA. Nebraska joins Ohio State in representing the Big Ten Conference at the tournament, while New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma and UNLV round out a strong field.

Following a practice round on Saturday, the 54-hole tournament tees off Sunday with two rounds of continuous play beginning with an 8:30 a.m. (CT) shotgun start. The final round also features an 8:30 a.m. (CT) shotgun start on Monday on the par-72, 6,123-yard layout of the Kissing Tree Golf Course in San Marcos.

Live scoring for the 5-count-4 scoring format will be available at Scoreboard.clippd.com.

Redshirt sophomore Lauren Thiele will play out of the top spot in the Nebraska lineup after winning the individual title at the Big O Classic (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). Thiele put together a three-round total of 223 (73-75-75) at the Oak Hills Country Club in Omaha.

Danica Lundgren added a runner-up finish in her collegiate debut, finishing just one shot back of Thiele at 224 (73-78-73). Lundgren, a freshman from Austin, Texas, will make her first lineup appearance for the Huskers in San Marcos.

Senior Miu Takahashi will play out of the No. 3 spot at Kissing Tree, while sophomore Hannah Kono will occupy the No. 4 position. Freshman Eden Lohrbach will make her second straight lineup appearance after making her collegiate debut at the Red Raider Invitational (Sept. 24-25).

Jim West Challenge
San Marcos, Texas (Host: Texas State)
Kissing Tree Golf Course (Par 72, 6,123 Yards)

Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 20 (Rounds 1 & 2) - 8:30 a.m. (CT) (Shotgun)
Monday, Oct. 21 (Round 3) - 8:30 a.m. (CT) (Shotgun)

Live Scoring: Scoreboard.clippd.com

Participating Teams (12) 
Houston, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas State, Texas Tech, UNLV, UTSA

Thiele, Lundgren Sweep Top Spots at Big O Classic
Lauren Thiele shot a final-round 75 to hold off Husker teammate Danica Lundgren by one stroke to claim the individual women’s golf title at the Big O Classic in Omaha on Oct. 1.

Thiele, a redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., closed with a 54-hole total of 223 (+7) on the par-72, 6,019-yard layout at the Oak Hills Country Club.

Lundgren, a true freshman from Austin, Texas, fired a one-over-par 73 in Tuesday’s final round to end her tournament at 224 (+8) just one shot back of Thiele.

The Omaha trio of Katie Ruge, Emily Karmazin and Sydney Taake rounded out the individual top five, with Karmazin and Ruge tying for third at 226 (+10), while Taake took fifth at 227 (+11).

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 74.96 stroke average over 104.5 career rounds in 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 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.

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 and top finisher in Wisconsin. 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. She tied for 17th (224) at the Badger Invitational in her Big Red debut.

Thiele was the No. 2 golfer for the Shockers with a 76.07 spring stroke average last season. The redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., competed for the Huskers at the season-opening Badger Invitational before winning the Big O Classic in Omaha (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). 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 NU roster.

Shah came 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. She was NU’s No. 4 finisher while playing as an individual outside the Husker lineup at the Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-10). She tied for 54th with a 235 (+19) in a 75-player field in Wisconsin before adding an 11th-place finish with a 234 (+18) at the Big O Classic.

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. She made her college debut by leading Nebraska at the Red Raider Invitational (Sept. 24-25) with a three-round total of 229 (+13) to tie for 50th.

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. She made her collegiate debut with a runner-up finish at the Big O Classic (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), closing with a 54-hole score of 224 (+8). Lundgren will make her first appearance in the Husker lineup at the Jim West Challenge (Oct. 20-21).

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 six cuts in eight starts on the Epson Tour. She has made $23,700, 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). She recently tied for 11th with a 214 (-2) at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout (Sept. 20) to earn her largest professional payday to date of $6,682.

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 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.