The Nebraska women’s golf team hosts the Northern Migration Competition beginning Monday. The weather is all but guaranteed to be sunny and in the seventies. The reason: The Northern Migration takes place in Florence, Arizona.
Due to the terrible weather much of the winter and spring in Lincoln, Nebraska has never hosted a challenge other than the start-of-the-year Chip n’ Club Invitational, which takes place at Wilderness Ridge. Now, Nebraska finds itself in an odd position being the home team 2,000 miles away.
Head coach Robin Krapfl does not find the situation ridiculous. She is very much looking forward to it.
“It has presented some challenges,” Krapfl said. “But we have 19 teams coming in and the course has been great to us. Let’s face it, no one is going to be coming to Lincoln.”
Given that next week is spring break, the student-athletes have no problems heading to Arizona for a week.
“It looks like it should be really good weather, so it should be fun,” NU’s Maddie Sheils said. “I’ve been to Arizona before. It’s the golf capital of the world and I really like it.”
Of course, the players are well aware the trip is a business one as well. The Northern Migration will feature tough teams from across the country, including Kansas, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Minnesota and Iowa.
“We have some pretty good teams coming,” Scheils said. “But our goal is always to win, and I think there’s a good chance we can do it.”
The series is especially meaningful following the Cornhuskers’ showings in the past two events. After finishing dead last at the UCF Challenge two weeks ago, NU finished in the middle of the pack at the UNLV Spring Invitational. Krapfl said the team’s showings weren’t indicative of a lack of progress, but an adjustment to playing conditions.
“[The team has] improved a lot,” Krapfl said. “Going into Central Florida, we hadn’t hit off grass yet, so that was a major adjustment. But the more we can get outside and play, the more competitive we will be.”
At the UNLV tournament, which featured four Big 12 Conference teams in addition to NU, Nebraska fared well in the early rounds, but shot its worst, a 306, round of the tournament in the final round, when winds flared dramatically at the most difficult part of the course. The Huskers finished in eighth place, but last out of the five Big 12 teams.
“Overall, we played pretty well, but we would have liked to finish better,” Scheils said. “It was definitely an improvement from Florida, so it was really good in that regard.”
Krapfl has been pleased with the progression of her team so far this season, and thinks the team could be about to break out.
“We’ve made some great strides,” Krapfl said. “We’re getting into mid-season form, and now we’re ready to play the way we should.”
seanwhalen@dailynebraskan.com
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