Eight Boys, Four Girls Remain at Heritage Hills
MCCOOK (June 23, 2021) - After the first day of matches at Heritage Hills Golf Course in McCook on Wednesday, four girls remain at the 59th Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship and eight boys at the 32nd Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship.
On the girls' side, the No. 1 seed Lauren Thiele of Wahoo cruised into the Semifinals by playing only 25 holes combined in her two matches. Thiele rolled to a 8-and-6 win over Lincoln's Lauryn Ball in the Round of 16. Then, the 2019 Champion, defeated Scottsbluff's Emily Krzyzanowski in the Quarterfinals, 6 and 5.
The No. 1 seed on the boys' side also had an impressive day. Omaha's Jake Boor took just 14 holes to defeat the No. 32 seed Tommy Dickmeyer, 5 and 4. Boor then won 5 and 3 over Omaha's Kingston Solomon in the Round of 16.
The girls' Semifinals feature a couple past NGA champions and two others looking for their first title. Thiele will face Omaha's Katie Ruge, the 2020 Nebraska Women's Match Play Champion. Ruge had to face two tough opponents as the No. 13 seed. She defeated Omaha's Emily Karmazin in her first match, 4 and 3. Then she had to take on last year's runner-up, Nicole Kolbas of Lincoln. It was the only girls match to reach the 18th hole, with Ruge making par to win, 1 up.
In the second semifinal, it will be Papillion's Sydney Taake against Wahoo's Brooke Thiele. Brooke is the youngest of the five Thiele sisters. Three of her older sisters have won this championship, including Lauren, Haley and Hannah. The 13-year-old won over North Platte's Karsen Morrison in the Quarterfinals in another great match, with Thiele taking a 2-and-1 win. Taake won by concession over the No. 2 seed Madi Schlaepfer of Gering, who struggled with the heat and conceded the match on No. 13 with Taake 3 up.
In the boys' Quarterfinals, Boor will face Omaha's Will Mullin, who won the final three holes of his Round of 16 match against Omaha's Rex Soulliere, then also won the extra hole to advance. Omaha's Connor Steichen and Hastings' Brayden Schram are the second quarterfinal, while Omaha's Zac McCormack and Doniphan's Ethan Smith are in the third. Smith upset the No. 7 seed and 2019 Champion Luke Gutschewski of Elkhorn in the Round of 16.
Omaha's Christopher Atkinson, a 2020 Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup team member, is set to take on Lincoln's Brock Rowley. Atkinson was also involved in a great match against former Junior Cup teammate Jason Kolbas of Lincoln. Atkinson took the match, 2 and 1, to advance.
The girls' Semifinals are scheduled for 8:40 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., with the boys' Quarterfinals starting at 8 a.m. The updated brackets are available under the Scoring tab of the championship websites below.
Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship
Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship
About the NGA
The Nebraska Golf Association, founded in 1966, is comprised of all members of public and private clubs and/or municipal or regional golf associations which utilize an approved handicap service recognized by the USGA and provided by the NGA. Our mission is to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values to all golfers in Nebraska. Among the duties of the Association include governance of member clubs and service as their handicapping and course rating authority, conduct of state golf championships, local USGA qualifying & other notable competitions, promotion of junior golf, presentation of worthwhile educational programs and support of allied golf organizations in Nebraska. The Nebraska Golf Association is an Allied Golf Association of the USGA and carries out core services including Handicap Administration and Oversight, Course Rating, Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status, Tournaments and USGA Championship Qualifiers and USGA Initiatives and Community Programs.
