SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Women’s Golf team hopes it has found a groove at the right time. With Kendra Placke and Mia Martin leading the way at the top of the lineup, the Bulldogs have hopes of rising as high as second in the final conference standings. The final two rounds of the 2020-21 GPAC Championships will take place Friday and Saturday at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In the fall portion of the conference tournament, Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad carded a 36-hole score of 368-359–727. Currently in fourth place, Concordia sits behind Morningside (629), Jamestown (715) and Dakota Wesleyan (720).
GPAC Spring Championships
April 23-24 | 10 a.m. (both days)
Bent Tree Golf Club | Council Bluffs, Iowa
Live scoring/tournament info: GPAC Website
By the numbers
· The 2019-20 season featured fall action only (spring canceled due to COVID-19), meaning there were only two rounds of conference championships. The Bulldogs placed third in the GPAC (336-345–681). Individually, Kendra Placke placed sixth and Murphy Sears tied for 14th while earning all-conference accolades. Placke has earned All-GPAC honors in each of her first two seasons at Concordia.
· In a span of five days this spring, the Bulldogs turned in the two lowest scores in program history – a 324 at the Concordia Bulldog Invite and a 326 at the Wayne State Wildcat Classic. The key has been to get four golfers to shoot in the 80s or lower. In the school record performance at the Concordia Invite, four Bulldogs shot 86 or lower: Placke (75), Martin (79), Andrea Peterson (84) and Lauren Havlat (86).
· Martin’s addition provides optimism that a second-place finish in the GPAC is attainable. The native of Brisbane, Australia, made her Bulldog debut on March 8 and has played in all eight rounds this spring. Her season average of 82.3 is second to Placke (80.8) for a team low. A transfer from Concordia University, Portland, Martin carded a season low of 77 at the Wildcat Classic.
· As just a freshman, Placke placed in a tie for fifth in the GPAC with a four-round score of 75-78-88-89–330. The Seward High School alum carded GPAC scores of 78-84–162 in the fall of 2019 and placed sixth in the GPAC. This season, Placke is currently sitting 10th in the GPAC (90-82–172). Her career scoring average in conference rounds is 83.0.
The GPAC team champion receives an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships, which will be held in Ypsilanti, Mich., May 25-28. The second-place finisher in the conference would also receive if an automatic bid if ranked in the top 30 of the NAIA (unlikely to happen in 2021). The Concordia Women’s Golf program sent an individual qualifier to the national tournament in 2017 when Amy Ahlers claimed the GPAC title (first in school history).