By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE — The 2018-19 season wasn’t an easy one for the Northern Michigan University men’s golf team, but the Wildcats look to improve this year and their schedule opens up with a meet in the Upper Peninsula.

NMU starts off the season with the Island Resort Collegiate Open at the Sweetgrass Golf Course in Harris on September 7-8. Even though the meet is in the U.P., it will be hosted by South Dakota State. Northern then heads downstate to Big Rapids for the Bulldog Invitational Sept. 14-15.

The Wildcats follow that meet with a longer road trip, this time to Ohio for the Doc Spragg Invitational in Findlay Sept. 28-29.

The following month, Northern heads downstate again for the Northwood Invitational Oct. 6-7 in Midland and then it will cross the border into Wisconsin Oct. 21-22 for the Kohler Classic in Sheboygan to end the fall season.

NMU’s spring season tees off March 4-6 with the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff in Tampa, Fla. and that will be followed by two meets in Kentucky.

Northern’s first meet in the Bluegrass State will be the Saginaw Valley State Spring Invitational in Georgetown Mar. 14-15 and the second is the GLIAC South Invitational in Lexington Mar. 23-24.

The next month, the Wildcats go down to Indiana for the Purgatory Invitational in Noblesville April 5-7, and they will close out the regular season with the GLIAC Championships Apr. 17-19 downstate in Augusta at the Gull Lake View Golf Club.

NMU lost NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Regional qualifier Austin Elsner to graduation, but it returns five golfers from last season as the Wildcats try to bounce back in 2019-20.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writer Ryan Stieg. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.