Huskers Open Spring Season in Orlando

The Nebraska women’s golf team begins its 2025 spring season by traveling to Orlando for the PDI Intercollegiate - hosted by UCF, Feb. 2-4.

The 17-team tournament field will take on challenging layout at the Eagle Creek Golf Club, beginning with 18 holes on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 a.m. (CT). The 54-hole event continues with Monday’s second round, before concluding with Tuesday’s final round.

No. 10 Mississippi State headlines a loaded field that includes No. 13 North Carolina, No. 18 Duke and No. 24 Kansas. No. 27 Baylor, the hosts from No. 36 UCF put six top-40 teams in the field, while No. 51 College of Charleston, No. 69 Indiana, No. 77 Sacramento State, No. 86 Louisiana-Monroe, No. 91 Tulsa and No. 95 Old Dominion put 12 top-100 teams in the event.

Nebraska senior Miu Takahashi lead the Huskers to Florida, while sophomores Lauren Thiele, Arden Louchheim and Symran Shah along with freshman Eden Lohrbach hope to get the Big Red off to a strong start in the spring campaign.

PDI Intercollegiate - Hosted by UCF
Location: Orlando, Florida
Course: Eagle Creek GC (Par 72, 6,367 Yards)

Schedule
Sunday, Feb. 2 (Round 1) - 7:30 a.m. (CT)
Monday, Feb. 3 (Round 2) - 7:30 a.m. (CT)
Tuesday, Feb. 4 (Round 3) - 7:30 a.m. (CT)

Live Scoring: Scoreboard.clippd.com

Participating Teams (17) 
Augusta
Baylor
Central Arkansas
College of Charleston
Duke
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana-Monroe
Mississippi State
Nebraska
North Carolina
Old Dominion
Penn State
Sacramento State
South Florida
Tulsa
UCF

Nebraska Lineup
1. Miu Takahashi, Sr.
2. Lauren Thiele, RSo.
3. Arden Louchheim, So.
4. Symran Shah, RSo.
5. Eden Lohrbach, Fr.

Husker All-American Smith Claims LPGA Tour Card
Former Husker Kate Smith-Stroh captured her LPGA Tour Card for the 2025 season by tying for 19th at the LPGA Q-Series Final Qualifying Stage in Mobile, Ala., Dec. 10.

Smith-Stroh, an All-American and Big Ten Champion for Nebraska as a fifth-year senior in 2021, put together five solid rounds in Alabama to finish with a total of 350 (-8) with rounds of 69-71-67-72-71 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail - Magnolia Grove to secure a spot on the world’s premier women’s golf tour next season.

One of the best golfers in Nebraska history, Smith-Stroh has been competing on the Epson Tour since 2022. During the 2023 season, she competed in 22 events and made 19 cuts, while recording four top-10 finishes. She tied for second at the Four Winds Invitational. She added 19 events while making 13 cuts in 2024, including two more top-10 finishes.

She was ranked 33rd in the Race for the Card entering Q-Series Final Qualifying.

The native of Detroit Lakes, Minn., made history during her time at Nebraska. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten award winner stormed to the Big Ten Championship with a school-record 64 (-8) in the final round at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio. She was named a third-team All-American by Golfweek and an honorable-mention All-American by the WGCA before becoming the first Husker to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup, helping the United States to a title. She was also the first Husker to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2021.

Bouvet Earns Ladies European Tour Card
Former Husker Vanessa Bouvet claimed her Ladies European Tour (LET) card for the 2025 season with a top-20 finish at the Lalla Aicha Q-School in Morocco, Dec. 16-20.

Bouvet, who competed at Nebraska from 2018-19 to 2021-22, put together an impressive five-round total of 353 (-10) at the Royal Golf Marrakech and Al Maaden Golf Marrakech in Morocco to finish in a six-way tie for 19th among 101 players who advanced to the final stage of qualifying in the European Q-School.

Playing out of her home country of France, Bouvet opened with rounds of 70 and 69 before settling for a 76. She bounced back with a 70 before closing with her best round of the tournament with a 68 on Friday to secure her LET card.

As a senior for Nebraska in 2021-22, Bouvet tied for 24th at the Big Ten Championship. She played out of the top of the Husker lineup and finished with a team-best 73.17 stroke average during the fall season with four top-20 finishes. She closed the year with a 74.67 average over 27 rounds. She produced six career top-10 finishes as a Husker.

A big hitter who called both France and Brunei home before coming to Nebraska, Bouvet burst onto the collegiate scene as a freshman by posting a 75.79 average over 24 rounds for the Huskers. Off the course, Bouvet was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. She earned her bachelor’s degree as an advertising and public relations major from Nebraska in May of 2022.

Thiele, Lundgren Swept 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 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 Huskers in Third Season as Head Coach
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 75.06 stroke average over 110.5 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.

Kono Closes Fall with Career Best
Hannah Kono finished 16th with a collegiate career-best three-round total of 218 (+2) to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to a tie for seventh at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla., to end the fall season.

Kono, a sophomore from Enkoping, Sweden, put together consistent rounds of 73, 72 and 73 on the par-72, 6,175-yard layout at the Biltmore Golf Club. Kono’s 16th-place finish was her best of the fall for the Huskers, surpassing a tie for 18th at the season-opening Badger Invitational when she shot her previous season-best 224. She missed a top-10 finish by just one stroke at the Hurricane Invitational.

Kono’s 218 was five strokes better than her previous career-best 223, which came at Eastern Michigan’s Shirley Spork Invitational last fall when she was a freshman at Oakland University in Michigan.

Trio of Transfers Making Instant Impact for 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 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. She added another 229 (+13) at the Jim West Challenge (Oct. 20-21).

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 made her first appearance in the Husker lineup at the Jim West Challenge (Oct. 20-21), contributing to NU’s team score with a 74 (+2) in the final round.

Huskers Replacing Three of Top Five Golfers from 2024-25 Campaign
The Huskers are replacing 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.

Talented Young Duo Set to Join Huskers for 2025-26 Campaign
Nebraska added a pair of talented golfers at the national level with the signing of Kaleigh Babineaux and Ailis Tribolet for the 2025-26 season, Head Coach Jeanne Sutherland announced on Nov. 14.

"We’re excited to sign such a talented pair at Nebraska this week,” Sutherland said. “Both Ailis and Kaleigh have competed and performed well on the national level.  Ailis brings a combination of power and composure to the team.  Kaleigh also has great power and loves to compete. Their skills will help them make immediate impacts for us. Both young ladies are also strong academically and possess strong character and drive. We’re excited to see what they do at Nebraska.” 

Tribolet, a senior at Valley Christian in Chandler, Ariz., led her high school boys’ team to the 2024 Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III state championship by winning the individual title with a two-round total of 132 (-12), including a final-round 63 (-3) at Aguila Golf Course in Laveen Village.

Ranked No. 73 by Junior Golf Scoreboard, Tribolet competed in the 122nd U.S. Women’s Amateur in Chambers Bay, Wash., as a 15-year-old in 2022. She also qualified for the 2023 U.S. Girls Junior Amateur.

Most recently, Tribolet won the Junior Golf Association of Arizona Fall Classic at Lone Tree Golf Course (Nov. 2-3).

Babineaux, a senior at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, recently qualified for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championships by winning the Southern Texas Regional after a two-hole playoff.  She went on to win the Foresight Sports Long Drive Challenge prior to the event, before tying for 19th at the championship with a 225 (+9), including an even-par 72 in the opening round at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La. (Nov. 3-5).

As a junior at Lake Travis, Babineaux tied for 16th at the UIL Region IV-6A Championship in the spring.

She spent her first two seasons at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo., finishing eighth as a sophomore at the Class 5A state tournament. Babineaux was also the Class 5A Northern Regional Champion as a sophomore in 2023, firing a 66 (-4) at Flatirons Golf Course as the only player to break par.

In the summer of 2023, she was a semifinalist at the Colorado Golf Association Girls Match Play, losing to eventual champion and Colorado signee Brenna Higgins.

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 365 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.