Big improvement made on day two; Placke places second at NWU Invite

By Jacob Knabel on Sep. 26, 2021 in Women's Golf

LINCOLN, Neb. – As a team, Concordia University Women’s Golf slashed 21 strokes off its score from Saturday while completing the two-round Prairie Wolves Fall Invite (Sept. 25-26) hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan. Kendra Placke made a run at another tournament title while placing as the runner up in a field of 40 golfers who took to Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. The Bulldogs placed second in a five-team field, finishing behind only Central College (Iowa).

Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad shot a 36-hole score of 357-336–693. The 336 represented the team’s second lowest score of the season – two strokes off the 334 Concordia carded in round two of the Lila Frommelt Classic.

“We had great improvement from day one to day two,” Muller said. “I knew it was something we were capable of. Now we need to refocus and put together two good days and not just one in these two-day events. That’s the expectation as we get ready for the GPAC tournament next Monday and Tuesday.”

Fresh off an individual title at the Matthew Goette Fall Classic, Placke wound up four strokes out of first place at the Prairie Wolves Invite. She entered Sunday’s round just one stroke back of eventual champion, Katie Graham (74-74–148) of Iowa Western Community College. Placke shot a rock solid 75-77–152 for the weekend. Her five-over-par 75 on day one represented a season low. Placke was the individual champion of the 2019 Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic played at Pioneers Golf Course.

Five of the seven Bulldogs to compete this weekend managed to lower their scores from round one to round two. Lauren Havlat just missed out on a second top 10 tournament finish this season thanks to her total of 88-82–170, tying for 11th place (one stroke out of 10th). The other five Concordia competitors were Mya Nurse (97-86–183; T-21st), Logan Eschliman (97-91–188; 27th), Emily Jensen (97-95–192; 31st), Sarah Wilson (97-99–196; 33rd) and Ashley Gerczynski (107-93–205; 34th). Gerczynski showcased the largest improvement, cutting 14 strokes off her Saturday round.

The Bulldogs will have this coming week off from competition while they prepare for the fall portion of the GPAC Championships to be held at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D., Oct. 4-5. Concordia placed third in the GPAC in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.