FREMONT, Neb. – The Concordia University women’s golf team is coming back to Seward with some hardware. The star duo of senior Murphy Sears and Kendra Placke led the Bulldogs to a second place finish at Monday (Sept. 9)’s Midland Fall Invite in Fremont, Neb. The first- and second-place squads both received trophies at the conclusion of the event.
Ninth-year head coach Brett Muller’s squad shot a team score of 353 on Monday, one stroke off of tournament champion Mount Marty. Both Placke and Sears placed inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard in a tournament that featured eight teams and 50 golfers.
“We definitely had an opportunity to win it,” Muller said. “We weren’t playing with Mount Marty so we didn’t really know how the team scoring was going. I thought the girls had a great mindset coming in and never used the weather or the elements as an excuse.”
Light rain fell throughout long stretches of play at Fremont Golf Club. Despite tougher conditions and a tougher course than what it navigated five days ago, Concordia shaved three strokes off its season opening total at the Matthew Goette Classic. Placke made a push for individual medalist honors by shooting an eight-over-par 81. That put her in a tie for second place. Sears shared sixth place with a total of 85.
The remainder of the lineup included senior Paighton Barbre (92; T-19th), freshman Lauren Havlat (95; T-23rd) and sophomore Britney Jepsen (101; T-33rd). Freshmen Logan Eschliman (108; 44th) and Ashley Gerczynski (111; 46th) also represented the Bulldogs in Fremont.
“Paighton was very excited with her score,” Muller said. “That was by far her best performance at Fremont. It was also good to see Lauren Havlat shoot 95 today. She definitely showed some of her potential. This was much more of what we expected from her.”
It may be just a matter of time before Placke or Sears claims a tournament title this fall or spring. Sears placed second last week at the Goette Classic. They combined for seven top five tournament finishes during the 2018-19 season. Said Muller, “Kendra got off to kind of a rough start but settled in and played solid down the stretch.”
Next up on the schedule is the Lila Frommelt Invite hosted by Briar Cliff this Friday and Saturday. Both rounds will play out at Two Rivers Golf Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D.