Huskers Open at Green Wave Classic

First-year Head Coach Jeanne Sutherland leads the Nebraska women’s golf team into its 2022 fall season starting with the Green Wave Classic in New Orleans, Sept. 12-13.

Sutherland, who was the Associate Head Coach at Nebraska last season, has guided 18 teams to NCAA Regional appearances as a head coach at Texas A&M (1992-2007) and SMU (2011-21). A four-time conference coach of the year (Big 12 – 1997, 2006, 2007; Southwest Conference – 1995), Sutherland will lead a Nebraska team that just missed an NCAA Regional bid in 2021-22.

The Huskers will be part of a 14-team field in New Orleans that includes, Central Arkansas, Chattanooga, Incarnate Word, Little Rock, LSU, Mercer, Northern Colorado, Sam Houston State, Seattle, South Florida, Tulsa and UNC Asheville along with the hosts from Tulane. After a practice round on Sunday, the tournament begins with a 7 a.m. (CT) shotgun start for two continuous rounds on Monday. The tournament concludes with a single round on Tuesday beginning at 7 a.m. (CT).

“It’s always good to get started and see where we are as a team,” Sutherland said. “The team has worked very hard to prepare for the first event, and we are excited to see them in action.”

The Huskers finished No. 67 in the final 2022 GolfStat rankings, a year after advancing to 2021 NCAA Regional play. Nebraska lost NCAA Regional individual qualifier Kirsten Baete, along with regular starter Vanessa Bouvet and Nicole Hansen from last year’s squad, but return a strong nucleus for 2022-23.

Graduate student Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) is Nebraska’s top returning player after finishing with a 74.04 stroke average last season. Whittaker, who will be pursuing her fifth letter as a Husker golfer, is coming off an outstanding summer with a sweep of the Nebraska Women’s Amateur and Nebraska Women’s Match Play championships. She also competed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Kelli Ann Strand could make an immediate impact in replacing Baete’s presence in the lineup. A true freshman from Challis, Idaho, Strand was the top Husker in qualifying for the Green Wave Classic. Strand competed at the U.S. Junior Amateur this summer after winning her third consecutive Idaho Class 2A high…