LINCOLN, Neb. – Not since former GPAC champion Amy Ahlers led the way at the College of Saint Mary Spring Invite in April 2016 had the Concordia University women’s golf program claimed a team championship. That changed on Tuesday (Sept. 17) when sophomore and individual champion Kendra Placke spurred the Bulldogs to a title at the Nebraska Wesleyan University Fall Classic. Placke and company bested a field of seven squads who navigated Pioneers Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.
Placke came through under pressure. After tying for first with two others at five-over-par 79, Placke birdied the playoff hole to seize the first individual tournament championship of her career. It was a day to remember for head coach Brett Muller’s program.
“We just came in with a great mindset,” Muller said. “We knew Pioneers set up pretty well for us and came in with the goal of winning the tournament. We got off to such a great start on the front nine. The course got tougher on the back nine and tougher to putt with the wind picking up. It was a very complete team effort. There were a lot of personal bests today. To have all eight girls under 100 was nice to see too.”
It was really only a matter of time before the Seward High School product Placke won a tournament. She entered the day with seven top-five place finishes out of 11 career events. The 79 she shot on Tuesday represented a season low. Her remarkable consistency makes her a threat to win any time she steps on the course.
“Kendra’s been pretty close quite a few times,” Muller said. “She was in a three-way tie for first and ended up birdying hole No. 1, a par five. She had a good chip and then made about a six-footer for her first win.
“She got about as excited as she gets,” Muller joked of the calm and collected Placke.
Of course the Seward native needed help from her teammates in order for Concordia to rise to the top of the leaderboard. When the Bulldogs made the turn, Placke stood at 38, senior Murphy Sears at 39, sophomore Britney Jepsen at 40, junior Andrea Peterson at 44 and freshman Lauren Havlat at 45. By day’s end, Concordia carded a team score of 337, a full 16 strokes better than its previous season low (and five strokes off a school record for one round).
Sears finished with an 82 and tied for fourth place. The rest of the top five showed Jepsen with a career low of 87 (T-12th), Peterson with an 89 (T-14th) and Havlat with a 95 (T-25th). Three Bulldogs competed as individuals: freshman Ashley Gerczynski (96; T-27th), senior Paighton Barbre (97; T-29th) and freshman Logan Eschliman (98; 32nd). There were 38 total individuals who competed.
As a team, the Bulldogs beat out York College (2nd), College of Saint Mary (3rd), Doane (4th), Midland (5th), Nebraska Wesleyan (6th) and a second squad from Doane (7th).
The number of fall events is dwindling down. Next up is the Sioux City Match Play meet on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Green Valley Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa.