SPENCER, Iowa – In the third and final round of the 2024 GPAC Women’s Golf Championships (April 22-23), the Concordia Bulldogs managed to climb one spot in the final team standings. Concordia concluded the championship tournament in ninth place while shooting a three-round total of 352-350-349–1,051 at Spencer Country Club in Spencer, Iowa. All three 18-hole scores came in under the Bulldogs’ season average (358.5) entering the week. Individually, sophomore Emery Custer led the way by placing 16th in the GPAC.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s program improved a notch from its 10th-place finish a year ago. Concordia placed as high as third as recently as 2021.
“We knew going into the GPAC Championships we were ranked eighth in the conference,” Muller said. “With how tight the teams were through 11th, our goal was to finish top four as a team. Yesterday in round two, we only improved by two shots while some other teams improved by 30-plus. Round two really buried us on the leaderboard and prevented us from achieving our goal. When you have a goal to finish top four, you need a couple individuals in the top 10. We had too many big numbers that held us back from putting together a solid team score.”
Named the 2022-23 GPAC Newcomer of the Year, Custer took a leap forward in her sophomore campaign. She vaulted from 25th in the GPAC in 2023 into a tie for 16th in 2024. Custer finished strong on Tuesday in carding an 83. Her three-round conference tournament total came in at 86-86-83–255. That score put Custer six strokes shy of a top-10 finish. The Broken Bow, Neb., native concluded the 2023-24 season with a season best scoring average of 86.0 over 10 events (19 rounds).
The two most experienced players in the GPAC lineup also finished in the top 30 of the final leaderboard. Senior Mya Nurse played even with Custer through the first two conference rounds on Monday. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native wound up in a tie for 25th place while shooting 86-86-90–262. Next in line was fifth-year Bulldog Logan Eschliman, who landed in a tie for 28th place (91-87-85–263). Eschliman carded the team’s second lowest score on Tuesday. The final two spots in the lineup were held down by sophomore Maddie Lewis (89-93-91–273; T-42nd) and junior Jennifer Gillotti (95-91-93–279; T-47th). This marked the first career GPAC tournament for both Lewis and Gillotti.
Bulldogs at the 2024 GPAC Championships:
TEAM: 352-350-349–1,051 (9th)
T16. Emery Custer: 86-86-83–255
T25. Mya Nurse: 86-86-90–262
T28. Logan Eschliman: 91-87-85–263
T42. Maddie Lewis: 89-93-91–273
T47. Jennifer Gillotti: 95-91-93–279
Highlights this spring included team third-place finishes at both the College of Saint Mary Invite and the Kaitlyn Erickson Invite. At the CSM Invite, both Custer and Eschliman earned medals for placing in the top 10. The lowest team score for a single round in 2023-24 was the 341 turned in at the Lila Frommelt Classic back in the fall. Custer and Lewis shared the honor of carding the lowest individual score (81), also during fall action.
Eschliman and Nurse have concluded their college careers after providing steady play during their time as Bulldogs. Meanwhile, Custer, Gillotti and Lewis help anchor the lineup in 2024-25.