VERMILLION, S.D. – A tough go in round two prevented the Concordia University Men’s Golf from a shot at contending for a conference championship. On the plus side, the Bulldogs sharpened their game in Tuesday (April 25)’s final round of the 2023 GPAC Men’s Golf Championship and moved up to fifth in the final conference standings. Drew D’Ercole paced Concordia individually as it shot a three-round team score of 296-307-296–899 at the event hosted by The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s program bumped up a rung from its sixth place GPAC finish in 2022. The top four teams at the 2023 conference tournament were Doane (868), Northwestern (875), Midland (881) and Morningside (882).
“After the first 18 yesterday, we were tied for third and just struggled in round two,” Muller said. “We bounced back and had another pretty solid round today. We moved up a spot and finished fifth. I know the guys are a little disappointed. I think we had a better year than our fifth-place season, but it’s golf and you have to show up when the bright lights are on.”
One of the best to ever play for the program, Ivan Yabut put a bow on his collegiate career, one year after he placed fifth in the GPAC. This time around, it was D’Ercole who topped the Bulldogs. He placed in a tie for 16th on the final 2023 GPAC leaderboard while shooting 74-76-72–222. Four of the five Bulldogs at the championship finished inside the top 20 (in a field of 57). Yabut, Justin Webert and Jacob Woodmancy each tied for 20th with identical cumulative totals of 226. Meanwhile, Jake Hagerbaumer placed 44th (82-78-79–239).
The 2022-23 Bulldogs wound up with a school record 18-hole season average of 300.3 in 21 rounds throughout the fall and spring. That figure broke the previous record of 305.1 by the 2021-22 squad. As for D’Ercole and Yabut, both have claimed career totals of seven tournament top 10 placements and four tournament top five placements. Yabut still boasts the program record for the lowest single round score (seven-under-par 65) in program history.
Without question, the ’22-23 team showcased the deepest roster that Muller has ever put together. Nine Bulldogs produced seven averages in the 70s. On any given day, Concordia was capable of beating anyone in the GPAC.
Said Muller, “We had a lot of different guys that stepped up and played on our varsity roster throughout the year. This was the most depth the GPAC has had as a conference. I really believe there were about eight different schools that had a chance to win the conference. Hats off to Doane. They played great the last two days. I wish them the best of luck at nationals. From a season standpoint, we set the school record for 18-hole average for the second year in a row. That’s a testament to our guys. It’s not an easy record to achieve. It’s a long season when you start before class and have to carry that focus all the way up to finals week in the spring.”
Concordia – Final GPAC Results
TEAM: 296-307-296–899 (5th)
T16. Drew D’Ercole: 74-76-72–222
T20. Justin Webert: 75-79-72–226
T20. Jacob Woodmancy: 74-77-75–226
T20. Ivan Yabut: 73-76-77–226
44. Jake Hagerbaumer: 82-78-79–239
Detailed 2022-23 season statistics can be found HERE. A schedule for the 2023-24 Concordia Golf season will be announced during the summer.