Freeman, Nietfeldt head to championship round of Nebraska Men’s Match Play Championship

BEATRICE, Neb. – The stage has been set for the Nebraska Men’s Match Play Championship, with Calvin Freeman and 2003 champion Ryan Nietfeldt moving into the final round.

Top-seeded Freeman, who is the golf coach at Southeast Community College, clinched a victory on the 17th hole to move past David Easley into the championship round.

Freeman, a Table Rock native, competed collegiately for SCC and Nebraska before competing in various mini-tours.

He fell behind after Easley claimed the fifth hole. Two holes later, Freeman made his move. He took the seventh and eighth holes to claim the edge going into the back nine.

Freeman then claimed the 11th and 14th holes build a three-hole advantage with four to play. Easley took the 15th hole and halved the 16th to stay alive, but Freeman notched a decisive birdie on the 17th to put himself one win away from a title.

In a battle of previous champions, 2003 champ Ryan Nietfedlt outlasted defending champion Johnny Spellerberg.

Nietfeldt, who needed 25 holes to eliminate former NFL running back Danny Woodhead in the semifinals, fell behind after the second hole. He went on to win six holes over an eight-hole span to take control. Spellerberg made a late run, winning the 15th, 16th and 17th holes, but the pair halved the 18th, clinching the win for Nietfeldt.

Nietfeldt is seeking to become the sixth golfer to win more than one Nebraska Men’s Match Play Championship. If he were to win, his 20-year gap between titles would trail only Knox Jones’ 21-year span between titles. Jones won in 1979 and 2000.

Freeman is seeking his first championship.