Ahlers wins Briar Cliff Classic; Bulldogs place second

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Sophomore Amy Ahlers pocketed another tournament win on Friday to continue what’s been an impressive young collegiate career in Bulldog blue. Ahlers took first place at the two-day Briar Cliff Fall Classic by carding a 77-83–160, fueling a rock-solid tournament for the Concordia University women’s golf team at Two Rivers Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa.

Entering day two, the Bulldogs held a 12-stroke advantage over Northwestern atop the leaderboard. On Friday the Red Raiders (350-342–692) came back to pull even with Concordia and won the tournament based on a tiebreaker. The Bulldogs claimed second place with a two-day score of 338-354–692.

“It has been a great two days,” head coach Brett Muller said. “We’re a little disappointed we didn’t win it, but just being able to talk about being in that position shows the strides we’ve made. We had another solid score today.”

Ahlers, who hails from Albion, Neb., came into Friday’s round with a five-stroke lead over over both Briar Cliff’s Dawn Chapman and Northwestern’s Emma Wynja. Chapman ended up giving Ahlers the biggest pushing, shaving Ahlers’ lead down to just a single stroke heading into the final two holes. A par and a bogey were good enough for Ahlers to come out on top.

“She struggled a little with the putter in this tournament,” Muller said of Ahlers. “She stayed out of trouble and put herself in position so she’s playing well. She knows what she will be working on now.”

Two additional Bulldogs posted top-six finishes. Freshman Emma Jacoby equaled her 86 from Thursday and tied for fourth. Sophomore Kayla Krueger knocked one stroke off her total from the previous day with her 86 and placed sixth among the field of 49 golfers.

The lineup was rounded out by freshman Ashlen Pospisil (88-99–187, T-25th) and senior Allie Schieffer (102-110–212).

Among the four other Bulldog individuals at the tournament, freshman Brenna Gnuse stood out with her two-round 93-91–184, tying her for 23rd. Those were the top two scores of her career. The three remaining Bulldogs to compete were senior Jenelle Hallaert (100-111–211), freshman Lauren Sperry (120-115 – 235) and senior Melissa McIntosh (108), who played in Thursday’s round only.

Ahlers now has four career medalist-winning performances. Her previous first-place claims were at GPAC Qualifier No. 2 (Oct. 2, 2013), the Nebraska Wesleyan Spring Invite (April 15, 2014) and GPAC Qualifier No. 3 (April 23, 2014).

Concordia’s Thursday team total of 338 broke a program record for the Bulldogs' best ever round. The previous school record was held by the 1997-98 team that carded a 352.

Muller’s women’s golf team will close out the fall season on Monday, Oct. 6 when it competes at GPAC Qualifier No. 2. The meet will be held at Firethorn Golf Course in Lincoln.