SEWARD, Neb. – The most significant even of the fall season is nearing for Concordia University Women’s Golf. The Bulldogs are gearing up for the fall portion of the 2021-22 GPAC Championships, set to take place next Monday and Tuesday (Oct. 4-5) at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D. Concordia has been idle since placing second at last weekend’s Prairie Wolves Fall Invite. The first tee time on Monday is slotted in for 10:50 a.m. CT.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s program has placed third in the GPAC in back-to-back seasons. Led by three all-conference performers, the Bulldogs carded a 2020-21 four-round GPAC score of 368-359-327-339–1,393. Last season’s four conference rounds were split between Dakota Dunes Country Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D., and Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Seward High School product Kendra Placke is again the team’s top golfer and could contend for the GPAC individual title. Based on her most recent outings, Placke may be hitting her stride at the right time. She won the Matthew Goette Fall Classic (Sept. 21) and placed as the runner up at the Prairie Wolves Invite (Sept. 25-26). Placke’s 75 on day one of the Prairie Wolves Invite represented a season low. Her current scoring average of 79.3 paces the team and would be a career low if it holds up over the course of the season.
Placke placed seventh in the GPAC last season while turning in a four-round total of 90-82-76-81–329. In order to make a serious run at a conference title, the top contenders likely won’t able to afford any rounds of 80 or higher. The rest of the lineup looks a bit different as compared to last season when the now departed Andrea Peterson and Mia Martin joined Placke on the all-conference team. Returners Logan Eschliman (93-96-91-100 – 380; 31st) and Lauren Havlat (110-95-89-95–389; T-36th) competed in all four GPAC Championship rounds in 2020-21. The GPAC squad next week will include Placke, Eschliman and Havlat in addition to Mya Nurse and Emily Jensen.
As a team, the Bulldogs possess a season scoring average of 352.0. Their season low of 334 came on day two of the Lila Frommelt Fall Classic. The improvement of Nurse has helped make up for the graduations of Peterson and Martin. Nurse has cut her scoring average from 105.1 last season to 89.9 this season. Nurse shot a career low 77 in the second round of the Frommelt Classic. At the top of the lineup, Placke will be aiming for her fourth-straight All-GPAC award.
Pairings and tee times for round two (Oct. 5) of the GPAC Championships will be based off the scores from round one. Rounds three and four of GPAC women’s golf will be staged at Norfolk Country Club in Norfolk, Neb., April 25-26, 2021.
The GPAC will offer live scoring for the tournament via https://www.golfgenius.com/. The tournament’s live results can be accessed by using the Golf Genius ID of 2122WGPAC.