Huskers Hope to Warm Up In Houston

Lincoln - After a harsh winter break, the Nebraska men’s golf team is looking forward to hitting the links again. The Huskers open the spring portion of their season on Feb. 18-19 at the Rice Intercollegiate in Houston, Texas. It will be the first appearance at the Rice Intercollegiate for the Huskers since 2005, when Nebraska finished fifth.

Nebraska opens the spring with four tournaments in southern states – Texas, Florida, South Carolina and Arizona. The spring concludes with the Diet Pepsi/Shocker Classic in Wichita, Kan., The Palisades Collegiate Golf Classic in Charlotte, N.C., and the Big 12 Championship at Trinity, Texas.

The Huskers hope to build off a fall season during which the young squad gained valuable experience. Nebraska’s best finish of the fall was a tie for seventh at the Kansas Invitational. With no seniors on the roster, junior Mark Pillen led the Huskers in the fall with a 75.00 stroke average. The Rice Intercollegiate will have extra meaning for Pillen, as he returns to compete in his hometown of Houston for the first time in his career.

Freshman Mike Coatman stepped up big as well for the Huskers in the fall, averaging 75.43 strokes per round. Another freshman, Andrew Wyatt, gained experience from being a regular in the lineup. Juniors Chris Bruening and Trent Price, also regulars in the Huskers’ lineup, are both eager to improve their scores this spring. Freshmen Tyler Parsloe and Brett Sundberg showed some potential in later-fall tournaments and both look to compete for a spot in the Huskers’ lineup this spring.

Though the Huskers face a slight disadvantage to start every spring season, as the winter weather conditions make golfing in Lincoln practically impossible, the Huskers can be confident heading into the Rice Intercollegiate. Thanks in part to a strong mental toughness developed during the winter months, the Huskers have finished in the top six in each of the past three seasons in the first tournament of the spring, and the team hopes to continue that success this year in Houston.