SEWARD, Neb. – Fifty-four holes of competition will decide a conference champion over two days (April 24-25) at the 2023 GPAC Men’s Golf Championship. The event will be held at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D., the same setting for the conference tournament last spring. Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad placed sixth in the GPAC in 2021-22. The Bulldogs have played in five varsity events this spring leading up to the GPAC Championship tournament.
2023 GPAC Men’s Golf Championship
April 24-25 | The Bluffs GC (Vermillion, S.D.) | 9 a.m. Monday | 9 a.m. Tuesday
--Live Scoring: https://www.golfgenius.com/ (GGID = GPACCHAMP)
--GPAC Men’s Golf webpage
Monday Tee Times:
8:30 a.m. - Jacob Woodmancy
8:38 a.m. - Jake Hagerbaumer
8:46 a.m. - Justin Webert
8:54 a.m. - Ivan Yabut
9:02 a.m. - Drew D'Ercole
By the numbers
· At the 2021-22 conference championships (split between the fall and spring), Concordia carded a three-round total of 298-308-313–919. The top five place finishers were Morningside (869), Midland (880), Briar Cliff (890), Doane (910) and Northwestern (915). Individually, Ivan Yabut set a new program standard for highest GPAC finish as he placed in a tie for fifth (71-74-74–219). The Bulldogs lineup included three others who competed in all three GPAC rounds: Justin Webert (81-72-78–231; T-22nd), Drew D’Ercole (77-82-78–237; T-34th) and Jake Hagerbaumer (76-84-84–244; T-37th). For their efforts, Yabut was named All-GPAC and D’Ercole was recognized as Honorable Mention All-GPAC.
· The Bulldogs enter the conference tournament with a 2022-23 season average of 300.4. That figure represents an improvement from the program record of 305.1 produced by the 2021-22 team. In action this spring, Concordia has carded respective team scores of 296, 295, 295, 315, 306, 320, 326 and 316. The Bulldogs have turned in place finishes of second (out of 15) at the Doane Invite, sixth (out of 11) at the Bethel Invite, eighth (out of 11) at the Midwest Spring National Invite and fifth (out of 10) at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invite. Concordia also defeated Doane, 10-8, in the annual Bulldog-Tiger Cup. The team low round for the season was a 283 back in the fall at the UC Ferguson Classic.
· It’s been a fine spring for D’Ercole, a senior from Papillion, Neb. He was named the GPAC Golfer of the Week on Wednesday after he placed in a tie for fourth (75-73–148) at the Midwest Spring National Invite. In his career, D'Ercole has twice been named Honorable Mention All-GPAC and is an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. He’s played 64 career collegiate rounds wearing navy blue with a career scoring average of 76.4. He’s earned eight top 10 tournament placements over four seasons. Yabut has also enjoyed an accomplished career having averaged a score of 76.6 over 53 career rounds. The Omaha native remains the school record for lowest single round score with the seven-under-par 65 he shot at the 2021 Siouxland Invite.
· Without a doubt, this is the deepest team Muller has coached in his Concordia tenure, which dates back to the 2011-12 season. The current Bulldogs boast nine players with 18-hole scoring averages in the 70s. The team’s top five performers this season, in terms of scoring average, have been D’Ercole (74.3), Yabut (75.4), Webert (76.4), Jacob Woodmancy (76.6), Hagerbaumer (77.3) and Jake Richmond (77.3). The lowest individual round of the season was a 68 by D’Ercole (UC Ferguson Classic) and Woodmancy (Blue River Classic). Concordia competitors have combined for 13 top-10 tournament placements in 2022-23.
· Over the previous five seasons, the program has recorded GPAC place finishes of sixth in 2021-22, ninth in 2020-21, seventh in 2019-20, ninth in 2018-19 and fifth in 2017-18. Morningside is the reigning GPAC champion after it shot a three-round total of 278-293-298–869 during last season’s conference tournament. The conference champion earns an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship
National qualifiers that come out of the conference championships will continue their seasons with the 2023 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship set to be played in Mesa, Ariz., May 16-19. For more information on the national tournament, click HERE.