WAYNE, Neb. – In a two-day event at Wayne Country Club, the Concordia University Women’s Golf team flirted with the 18-hole school record once again. The Bulldogs placed fifth in the Wildcat Classic hosted by Wayne State College. The tournament was held Sunday and Monday (April 11-12) and featured five NCAA Division II schools and three NAIA squads.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s team turned in a two-round total of 326-344–670. Concordia placed in front of Bemidji State University (Minn.), York College and Mount Marty.
“It was a great experience for our team to play against some Division II competition,” Muller said. “We were paired with Bemidji State, UNK (Nebraska-Kearney) and Wayne State on Sunday. Those are schools we don’t normally get to play against and I thought our girls played very well. Sunday was the first time this year we had all of our top five shoot 89 or below. We were much more consistent at the 3-4-5 spots and were able to build off of what we did at our home invite.”
In a field of 47 golfers, both Mia Martin (tied for sixth) and Kendra Placke (tied for ninth) earned top 10 finishes. Martin posted her top score so far as a Bulldog in shooting a 77 on Sunday. The transfer from Concordia-Portland shot a two-round total of 77-82–159. Placke (tied for third at the Concordia Bulldog Invite) was right on her heels with a 36-hole score of 78-83–161.
The 326 team score on Sunday was two strokes off the program single-round record of 324 carded this past Wednesday at the Concordia Invite. In order to settle into the 320s, the Bulldogs need the solid play they got from the likes of Andrea Peterson (89-86–175; T-27th), Lauren Havlat (85-93–178; T-31st) and Logan Eschliman (86-93–179; 33rd). A Lincoln native, Eschliman carded a new career low with her 86 on Sunday.
Said Muller, “Mia played well both days and that’s her first top 10 finish as a Bulldog … we were just five shots from being in the top half so that was a pretty good performance for us. It’s always nice to beat out the NAIA competition.”
Concordia now has some time to prepare for its next event – the GPAC Championships at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 23-24. Back in the fall at Dakota Dunes Country Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D., the Bulldogs carded a two-round conference score of 368-359–727. They are currently in fourth place with a goal of catching Jamestown (715) and Dakota Wesleyan (720) for second place in the final standings.