LINCOLN, Neb. – The Concordia University Women’s Golf team continued to trend in the right direction as it wrapped up the final round of its own Concordia Bulldog Spring Invite on Wednesday (April 3). Blustery and cool conditions persisted throughout the tournament as more than 80 golfers powered through the weather at Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. The Bulldogs finished in seventh place out of 13 schools while led by sophomore Emery Custer.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad shot 367-362-354–1,083 for the three-round event, which featured 36 holes of action on Tuesday and 18 holes on Wednesday.
“The biggest positive from this tournament and from the spring is that we have improved on our team score each round,” Muller said. “Unfortunately, we’re just not where we were when we finished the fall. The spring weather has been pretty tough. We’ll continue to battle and continue to improve each day. On the individual side, we got plagued by too many big numbers. That cost us a higher position on the team side.”
The Broken Bow, Neb., native Custer enjoyed the most consistently solid tournament for Concordia as she posted a three-round total of 90-85-90–265 and tied for 18th place. The 85 Custer shot in round two represented the best 18-hole score of any Bulldog in this tournament. Two teammates did manage to shoot in the 80s on Wednesday as sophomore Maddie Lewis carded an 86 and senior Mya Nurse shot an 89. In addition, freshman Abigail Kollbaum carded a personal best 99 in round three of the invite.
From an overall perspective, the top five performers for Concordia, following Custer, were Nurse (94-88-89–271; T-29th), senior Jennifer Gillotti (90-95-90–275; 40th), Lewis (93-98-86–277; T-41st) and fifth-year Bulldog Logan Eschliman (103-94-95–292; T-66th). The other three Concordia competitors were freshman Emma McCoy (97-112-100–309; 74th), sophomore Ericka Kroeker (105-105-100–310; 75th) and Kollbaum (115-111-99–325; 81st).
The competition at the Concordia Invite included GPAC rivals in Morningside (second place), Doane (T-fourth), Briar Cliff (T-fourth), Mount Marty (sixth), Dakota Wesleyan (ninth), Northwestern (10th), Hastings (11th), Dordt (12th) and College of Saint Mary (13th). Morningside’s Sofia Castelan won a playoff and was crowned the individual champion. Meanwhile, the team title went to Iowa Western Community College.
Bulldog results at Concordia Invite:
TEAM: 367-362-354–1,083 (7th of 13)
T18. Emery Custer: 90-85-90–265
T29. Mya Nurse: 94-88-89–271
40. Jennifer Gillotti: 90-95-90–275
T41. Maddie Lewis: 93-98-86–277
T66. Logan Eschliman: 103-94-95–292
74. Emma McCoy: 97-112-100–309
75. Ericka Kroeker: 105-105-100–310
81. Abigail Kollbaum: 115-111-99–325
Next up on the schedule is the College of Saint Mary Spring Invite slated for Thursday, April 11. The one-day tournament will be held at Tiburon Golf Club in Omaha, Neb. The Bulldogs placed second at the 2023 CSM Spring Invite.