Placke earns another title; Bulldogs come up just short as a team

By Jacob Knabel on Apr. 12, 2022 in Women's Golf

HASTINGS, Neb. – Kendra Placke has found a groove despite windy conditions for most of the spring. The star Bulldog claimed a second-straight tournament championship while winning the individual Hastings Invitational championship at the two-day event (April 11-12). Placke shot an 82 on Tuesday and nearly led Concordia University Women’s Golf to a team title at Lochland Country Club. The Bulldogs and Mount Marty both carded a two-day score of 309. The Lancers were rewarded the Hastings Invite championship based on the score of the No. 5 player in both lineups.

Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad shot a 346 on Monday and a 363 on Tuesday. While edged out by Mount Marty, Concordia defeated GPAC rivals Hastings, Dordt and Doane as part of a seven-team field that included 39 individual golfers.

“Overall it was a pretty solid two days,” Muller said. “Having a seven-hole lead after yesterday was new territory for our women’s team. I thought they went out today with a great mindset. Ultimately, we had too many big numbers on the scorecard today and tied for first with Mount Marty. Kendra got her second tournament win in a row and played solid as she has her entire career. Mya Nurse cracked the top 10 and got a medal. That was good to see. Lauren Havlat is definitely close. She just had a couple big numbers that prevented her from finishing in the top 10.”

Fresh off winning the Concordia Bulldog Invite last week, Placke can now boast of six career tournament championships. She shot a two-day score of 77-82–159 (+10) at the Hastings Invite and held off second-place Valdisa Andov (79-82–161) of Tabor College (Kan.) at the top of the leaderboard. Placke was joined in the top 10 by teammate Mya Nurse, who moved from 10th place at the end of Monday’s round into a tie for sixth by tournament’s end. It marked the first career top 10 claim for the West Des Moines, Iowa, native Nurse, who carded a total of 87-89–176.

Below is a listing of Placke’s five career collegiate tournament championships.

·        2019 Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic – 79 (+8)

·        2020 Lila Frommelt Fall Classic – 72-77–149 (+7)

·        2020 Buena Vista Fall Invite – 77 (+5)

·        2021 Matthew Goette Fall Classic – 84 (+12)

·        2022 Concordia Bulldog Invite – 75 (+3)

·        2022 Hastings Invite – 77-82–159 (+10)

The rest of the Concordia lineup in Hastings included Lauren Havlat (87-94–176; 14th), Logan Eschliman (95-98–193; 23rd) and Sarah Wilson (100-104–204; 28th). Competing as an individual, Ashley Gerczynski turned in a two-round score of 95-102–197; T-24th). Havlat has placed inside the top 20 (one top 10) of four tournaments this season.

The Bulldogs had been aiming for their first team tournament title of the season. They have placed second at three events in 2021-22. Concordia shot a 342 last week and placed fourth out of 13 teams at its own invite.

As the final event prior to the spring portion of the GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs will compete at the Siouxland Invite co-hosted by Northwestern and Dordt next Monday and Tuesday (April 18-19). The first round will be contested at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, before play shifts to The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa, for round two.