The Nebraska women's golf team heads to the state of Washington to compete at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, Oct. 8-9, at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish.

The 11-team event hosted by the University of Washington begins Tuesday with tee times at 9:50 a.m. (CT) for 36 holes on the opening day of the two-day event. The final round gets underway Wednesday with tee times at 9:50 a.m. (CT).

Live scoring for the tournament, which features Washington, Brigham Young, Rutgers, Idaho, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, Sacramento State, San Francisco, UC Davis and Seattle alongside the Huskers, will be available at GolfStat.com.

Nebraska is making just its second trip in history to the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, with the first coming in the fall of 2011. Former Husker Madeleine Sheils won the individual title in Nebraska's lone appearance in Sammamish, tying the then-school record with a final-round 67 to claim her first collegiate title. As a team, Nebraska tied for seventh in a 12-team field that was loaded with six Pac-12 schools.

Nebraska aims to continue its improvement from its first two events of the fall. The Huskers own a 297.17 team stroke average through its first two tournaments, which is nearly two strokes better per round than last season's school-record average.

The Husker lineup in Washington will feature seniors Kate Smith and Jessica Haraden at the top of lineup, along with sophomore Megan Whittaker and freshman Leah Herzog in the No. 3 and 4 spots. Junior Hannah Thiele will make her first lineup appearance of the season.

Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational
Location: Sammamish, Wash.
Host: University of Washington
Course: Sahalee Country Club (Par 72, 5,970 Yards)
Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 8 (Tee Times) - 9:50 a.m. (CT)
Wednesday, Oct. 9 (Tee Times) - 9:50 a.m. (CT)
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Participating Teams (11)     
Brigham Young    
Cal Poly    
Idaho        
Long Beach State
Nebraska
Rutgers
Sacramento State
San Francisco
Seattle
UC Davis
Washington

Nebraska Lineup
1. Kate Smith
2. Jessica Haraden
3. Megan Whittaker
4. Leah Herzog
5. Hannah Thiele

Haraden Shoots Career Bests at Conference Challenge
Senior Jessica Haraden fired a career-best 71 in the final round to finish with a career-best 220 over three rounds to tie for 29th at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo., Sept. 23-25.

Haraden's final round marked her first round better than par in her collegiate career, while her 54-hole total was 10 strokes better than her previous career best of 230, which came at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in February of 2018.

Haraden's strong effort as an individual outside the Husker lineup in Colorado helped her earn a lineup appearance at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. It will be her first lineup appearance for the Huskers since the spring of 2018.

Fellow senior Kate Smith matched Haraden with a 220 of her own, which included an opening-round 70 and a final-round 72.

Sophomore Megan Whittaker continued her solid play by tying for 33rd at 221 (72-74-75), while freshman Leah Herzog tied for 57th. Herzog led the 96-player field after the opening round with a 66 (-6) - the best round ever by a Husker true freshman.

As a team, Nebraska finished 10th in an 18-team field that featured one team from each of 18 NCAA Division I conferences.

NU Lineup Filled With Experience, Features One Fresh Face
The five-player Nebraska lineup for the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational features a pair of seniors among four returners to the Husker lineup and one true freshman.

Seniors Kate Smith (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) and Jessica Haraden (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) are joined by junior Hannah Thiele (Wahoo, Neb.) and sophomore Megan Whittaker (Elkhorn, Neb.) Thiele and Whittaker both competed for Nebraska at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. 

Whittaker will be making her fifth consecutive lineup appearance for the Big Red dating back to last season, while Thiele earned her first lineup spot this season.

Whittaker showed continual improvement throughout her freshman season and posted a 77.81 stroke average. She also matched Smith for Nebraska's top finish at the Big Ten Championship by tying for 51st, including an opening-round 75.

The four experienced Huskers are being joined by freshman Leah Herzog (Red Wing, Minn.), who earned her third straight lineup appearance to open her career.

Herzog was named Minnesota Ms. Golf in May before leading Red Wing to a Class 2A state team title. She posted a 69.4 scoring average as a high school senior and finished as the Class 2A individual runner-up. She was a four-time all-state selection.

Smith Shoots for Another Record-Setting Season
Senior Kate Smith will take aim at her best season yet, as she opens the 2019-20 campaign.  A three-year starter in the Husker lineup, Smith has played 93 rounds and owns a Nebraska-record 73.60 career stroke average. She owns a team-best 72.17 average through six rounds, with five or six rounds at or better than par (72).

Last season, Smith's 73.52 stroke average was a school record. In 2016-17, Smith set the Nebraska freshman record with a 73.90 stroke average while earning a spot in the 2017 NCAA Regional field.

She finished 2018-19 No. 223 in the GolfStat player rankings and owns 21 career top-25 individual tournament finishes, including 14 top-10 showings. She has also won three career Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week awards.

In 2017-18, Smith smashed a school record with her 14-under-par 202 at the 2018 Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 25-26). She added the second-best tournament in school history with her 208 (-8) at the 2019 Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 24-25) to finish as the runner-up.

She has fired 27 rounds better than par in her career, including a school-record 64 (-8) in the second round of the 2018 Westbrook Invite. 

Smith, Herzog Continue Minnesota Connection
Kate Smith, a senior from Detroit Lakes, and Leah Herzog, a freshman from Red Wing, continue an outstanding tradition of top golfers from the state of Minnesota playing at Nebraska. Smith, who set Nebraska's single-season stroke average record (73.52) for the third straight year in 2019, also qualified for the 2017 NCAA Central Regional.  Smith entered her final season at Nebraska with a school-record 73.90 career stroke average. No other Husker in history owns a career average better than 75.

Herzog is the latest in a nearly continuous flow of Huskers from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Cassie Deeg (Hugo, 2013-16), Steffi Neisen (New Prague, 2011-14),  Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, 2004-07) and Jackie Beste (2003-06) were all standout golfers for the Big Red. 

The 2019-20 season marks the 10th straight year Nebraska has had at least one Minnesota golfer in its lineup. The last time Nebraska had two Minnesota golfers in its lineup was 2015-16 when Deeg and Neisen played out of the top of the Husker lineup.  

Smith is the only five-time individual state champion in Minnesota high school history. She capped her career by claiming a share of her record fifth title on June 15, 2016 while leading Detroit Lakes High School to its fourth state team championship in the past five years. She was also the winner of the 2016 Minnesota Ms. Golf Award. Herzog won the 2019 Minnesota Ms. Golf Award at Red Wing High School.