Katie Ruge hopes to carry the momentum she gathered this fall into the spring for the Maverick women's golf team.
Ruge finished Omaha's fall schedule by placing second at Iowa's Diane Thomason Invitational before cruising to a win at this week's Big O Classic.
Ruge, a senior, carded rounds of 68, 77 and 68 to finish 3-under par to win by seven strokes.
"It was just really cool to have my family watch me play some good golf," Ruge said after Tuesday's final round at Oak Hills Country Club.
Ruge, who graduated from Millard North, had success at Oak Hills before. She won the Nebraska Women's Amateur championship in 2024 at Oak Hills. Ruge went on to be named the 2024 Nebraska women's amateur player of the year.
During the Big O Classic, Ruge shot 5-under 31 on the front nine during the first and third rounds.
"I think it sort of suits my game," Ruge said of Oak Hills. "The par-5s are gettable, I birdied the first hole all three rounds. I just tried to keep playing good golf and not let a big number get into my head.
"I had a good game plan and I've played this course enough that I knew I had a really good shot."
This is Ruge's second year with the Mavericks after playing her first two seasons at Kansas. She wasn't consistently in Kansas' lineup, so she decided to transfer to Omaha last year.
Omaha coach Victoria Grasso said Ruge has been a team leader since becoming a Maverick.
"She's an incredible player. She's meant so much to our program," Grasso said. "She just works really hard on the golf course and in the classroom."
The Big O Classic was the final event of the fall season. Omaha's spring season begins Feb. 16.
Ruge said one of her goals in the spring will be to qualify for the NCAA regional, either by winning the Summit League or having a high enough individual ranking.
And she's glad to be playing her senior year in her hometown.
"I'm a family girl, it's nice to be close to home," she said. "My swing coach is here and I just wanted to play golf. UNO has been good to mix academics and athletics for me."
