Stevenson keeps Huskers in the hunt at NCAA golf regional

Sophomore JC Stevenson fired an even-par 72 to climb into a tie for 11th on the individual leaderboard while helping Nebraska stay in the hunt for one of the top eight spots in the team standings at the 2008 NCAA Women's Golf Central Regional at the University of Texas Golf Course on Friday.

With Stevenson leading the way, Nebraska managed a second-round 306 after posting a 294 over the first 18 holes on the 6,301-yard, par-72 layout at the UT Golf Course. The Huskers closed the second round in eighth place at 600. NU will enter Saturday's round in eighth place with a two-shot lead over ninth-place LSU and a four-stroke cushion over 10th-place teams Kent State and North Carolina State. NU is just three strokes behind sixth-place teams Texas A&M and Alabama and just four shots back of fifth-place Texas.

The top eight teams from each of the three NCAA Regionals advance to the 24-team NCAA Championships May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M. The Huskers, who have advanced to three consecutive NCAA Regional tournaments, made their last appearance at the 24-team NCAA Championships in 2006.

The 49th-ranked Huskers entered the 21-team NCAA Central Regional as the No. 17 seed in the region. The Huskers sit in front of nine teams ranked ahead of them in the national rankings, including top-25 teams from Kent State (13th), Pepperdine (16th), LSU (19th) and Notre Dame (25th). No. 3 UCLA maintained its overall lead in the tournament with a second-round 293 to close the day at 576, 24 strokes ahead of NU. No. 6 Purdue sits six strokes behind the Bruins in second place at 582 after firing a 294 on Friday afternoon.

Stevenson, a Grand Island Senior High graduate, notched three birdies to go along with three bogeys while playing solid golf from start to finish to lead the Huskers in the second round. Stevenson added her 72 to an opening-round 73 to close the first 36 holes at one-over-par 145 in a tie for 11th place.

To put Stevenson's first two rounds in perspective, the best three-round total ever by a Husker golfer in Nebraska's 10 previous NCAA Regional appearances came with All-American Sarah Sasse's 222 in at the 2003 NCAA Central Regional at Lincoln's Firethorn Golf Course. Stevenson needs to shoot a 76 or better on Saturday to break Sasse's mark.

"We didn't play as well today as we did on Thursday, but we are still in position to advance heading into the final round," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "JC played some great golf today to give us a great score and keep us in the hunt for one of those top eight spots. It was also good to get a great round from Allison Stewart. We needed her to step up and play well for us today, and she did that."

Stewart, a senior from Vermillion, S.D., bounced back from an opening-round 82 to post NU's second-best score on Friday with a three-over-par 75 to close the first 36 holes at 157 in tie for 75th in the 108-player field. Stewart's round included a pair of birdies to go along with five bogeys.

Fellow senior Elli Brown, who produced Nebraska's top score with a 72 on Thursday, battled her way to a 79 on Friday. Brown enters Saturday's final round in a tie for 37th place at 151.

Sophomore Charlotte Wendner rounded out Nebraska's count-four lineup with an 80. The native of Bjarred, Sweden, also notched NU's No. 4 score on Thursday with a 76, and enters the final round in a tie for 69th place at 156.

Sophomore Kate White, who provided a strong opening-round with a 73, struggled to finish with an 86 on Friday, to enter the final round in tie for 78th at 159.

"We have our work cut out for us on Saturday, and we are going to have to play some great golf against some great competition if we are going to advance," Krapfl said. "Positioning ourselves among the top 12 teams will hopefully help us, because temperatures are going to be around 100 degrees again tomorrow, so it should help us to be playing in the early group.”