Eight Left at 102nd Nebraska Women's Match Play
Rounds of 32 and 16 Conducted Tuesday at Hillcrest Country Club
LINCOLN (July 29, 2025) - Eight players are left in the Championship Bracket at the 102nd Nebraska Women’s Match Play Championship, after two rounds of matches on Tuesday at Hillcrest Country Club in Lincoln.
After a few upsets during another hot day, the four of the eight Quarterfinalists are Huskers, two are Mavericks and two are junior golfers.
Lincoln's Naryn Kim, the No. 2 seed, is the top seed left. She rolled in her first match, 5 and 4 over Lincoln's Maya Kuszak, and then survived a battled against Omaha's Kaitlyn Hanna. Kim, the 2023 Nebraska Girls' Match Play Champion, won four of the last five holes to pull out a 1-up win.
One of the Huskers is two-time Champion Lauren Thiele of Wahoo. Thiele took down fellow Nebraska Girls' Match Play Champion Julia Karmazin of Omaha in the Round of 32, rolling in a birdie to win on the 19th hole. Thiele then faced Omaha's Lauren Murnan, who toppled the No. 1 seed and Defending Champion Katie Ruge of Omaha. Murnan rolled in back-to-back 20-foot birdie putts to close out Ruge, 3 and 2.
Thiele won the first three holes against Murnan, and held the lead throughout, eventually taking the victory, 3 and 2. She'll face Omaha's Emily Karmazin, an Omaha Maverick, in the Quarterfinals. Karmazin also won both of her matches, 3 and 2 to advance.
Husker Olivia Lovegrove of Lincoln played just 25 holes during her two matches, rolling to a 9-and-7 win in the morning, and then defeating teammate Mackenzie Bream, 6 and 4, in the afternoon. Lovegrove will play Fremont's Ansley Giesselmann, who needed 40 holes to get through her matches, including 22 holes in her Round of 16 match alone. A birdie on the 22nd hole gave Giesselmann the win over Sarah Lasso of Columbus.
Arden Louchheim, another Husker, played the fewest holes of any Quarterfinalist. She played the perfect match in the Round of 32, winning the first 10 holes against Omaha's Jackie Conway to win the match, 10 and 8. It's potentially the only such victory in championship history. She followed that up with a 5-and-4 win over Lincoln's Kaitlyn Dumler, to advance with just 24 holes played. Louchheim will take on Kim in the Quarterfinals.
The last Quarterfinal features a Husker versus a Maverick. Brooke Bream followed her Husker teammates by winning her matches in just 27 holes. Maverick Macarena Garcia won her matches 6 and 5, and then 4 and 2 to punch her ticket. Garcia defeated two-time Nebraska Women's Mid-Amateur Champion Carrie Bostar of Lincoln, a Hillcrest member, in the Round of 16.
Quarterfinal matches start at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the Semifinals to follow in the afternoon at 2 p.m. The Tournament Division played its Stroke Play Qualifying round on Tuesday, and matches also start in that division on Wednesday.
The updated bracket is available on the championship website below, along with the scoring page and additional information.
Nebraska Women's Match Play Championship
About NebGolf
The Nebraska Golf Association (NebGolf), 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 NebGolf. 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.
