NU Women’s golf team breaks school record

Chances are you've most likely heard the memorable Mark Spitz quote, "Records are meant to be broken."

On Monday, the Nebraska women's golf performance embodied that statement.

In the second round of the Alamo Invitational, the Nebraska women's golf team jumped four spots in the rankings to establish themselves as the tournament's top-ranked team. Not only did the team break the school's all-time best-round record, but three players also snuck into the tournament's individual top 10.

In Robin Krapfl's 25 years at Nebraska, the head coach had never seen anything like it.

As the team progressed through some ups and downs during the fall season, Krapfl pointed to one thing that made the late season run possible: the team's attitude.

"I'm really proud of them," she said. "They've all had great attitudes this fall, even when they struggled. It's nice to see the hard work pay off."

The hard work and positive outlook did, indeed, pay off. Leading the way for the Huskers on Monday were seniors Kayla Knopik and Madeleine Sheils. Both shot 3-under-par and both are in the top 10 of the leader board.

Sheils' 142 two-round-total puts her in sixth place, just two strokes behind the leader. A top-10 finish tomorrow would mark her 13th-career top-25 finish and her eighth top-10 finish.

"Madeleine has been playing great all fall," said Krapfl. "She's been very consistent and reliable."

While Sheils shined on Monday, so, too, did teammate Kayla Knopik. The senior from Papillion-La Vista High School broke her previous career best by two strokes. She is four strokes behind the leader and currently tied for 10th overall, along with teammate Shelby Martinek.

She knew the round was going well when she sank four birdies on the first five holes.

Though many were surprised by her phenomenal play, Knopik wasn't.

"I've been hitting the ball well the last two days, but today everything just sort of came together," she said. "At one point I thought I was going to shoot a 17-under par. I couldn't miss."

Her coach was surprised, too, but for a different reason.

"It actually surprises me that she hasn't done it before, to be honest," said Krapfl.

The team shot a round total of 280, which broke the previous record of 284. Knopik was a member of the team that broke the record last year, but breaking the record a second time was more satisfying.

"It felt amazing last year," Knopic explained, "but this time around it's just that much sweeter."

True freshman Shelby Martinek wasn't a member of last year's team, but that didn't stop her from joining in on Monday's fun. Her 2-under par 70 boosted her from 23rd to 10th overall.

Coach Krapfl believes her team has the tools to finish the tournament at the top, but realizes it won't be an easy task heading into tomorrow's final round.

"Our approach tomorrow will stay the same: confident and relaxed," she said. "There are a lot of great teams in the field, so if we come out confident and relaxed, everything should be fine."

After Monday's results, there shouldn't be a lack of confidence. Sure, it's tough to relax when you're the top team, but Monday proved that a lack of confidence should not be a factor.

JCreid@dailynebraskan.com