North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) women's golf team is set to begin its 2025 spring season in Florida. The team will participate in the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff at the Saddlebrook Golf Resort in Wesley Chapel, located just north of Tampa. This event is scheduled for March 5th and 6th.

Saddlebrook Resort, known for its extensive facilities, offers a unique setting with a car-free Walking Village design, surrounded by natural landscapes including lagoons and cypress trees. The resort features two golf courses among other amenities. The course provides 27 holes that can be configured into an 18-hole round, catering to various skill levels with its rolling fairways and well-maintained greens.

Weather forecasts for Wesley Chapel indicate cloudy skies and thunderstorms on March 5th, with winds reaching up to 40 mph. Conditions are expected to improve on March 6th, with sunny weather and milder winds.

The Wildcats last competed in this event during the 2021-22 season at Stonehedge North in Tampa, where they finished ninth. Live scoring for this year's event will be available through Scoreboard by Clipped.

Traveling for NMU are seniors Maggie Pietila and Payton Dube; juniors Gabriella Moreau, Olivia Brill, and Hailey Bolander; along with freshmen Abbie Pietila, Maddy Martens, and Abby Luke.

In their previous outing at the DU Panther Invitational to close out the fall season, NMU secured a tenth-place finish out of thirteen teams. They improved their score by eight strokes from the first round to finish with a total of +78 over the weekend. Maggie Pietila and Maddy Martens were notable performers, finishing individually in 26th and 28th place respectively.