YANKTON, S.D. – The first tournament of the 2022-23 season is in the books for Concordia University Women’s Golf. Paced by veteran standout Lauren Havlat, the Bulldogs finished eighth out of 11 groupings at the Mount Marty Fall Invited that unfolded Thursday and Friday (Sept. 1-2) in Yankton, S.D. Round one action took place at Fox Run Golf Course while round two shifted to Hillcrest Country Club.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad turned in a two-day total of 351-373–724. Concordia managed to beat out rival Doane as part of an event that included golfers from seven GPAC institutions.
“It was good to get back on the course and compete in a tournament again,” Muller said. “I was pretty pleased with our scores yesterday at Fox Run. Both Logan (Eschliman) and Lauren shot their career lows. We knew today at Hillcrest would be a tougher course and a real test. After about 13-14 holes, we had a chance to move up in the team standings but really struggled to finish the last few holes. We need to improve on and around the greens. We will learn from this and improve before our next tournament.”
The career low Muller spoke of for Havlat came in at an 81 in Thursday’s round. The Norris High School product backed it up with a 90 on Friday. Havlat’s cumulative 36-hole score of 171 placed her in 17th place out of a field of 60 golfers. West Des Moines, Iowa, native Mya Nurse was the lone Bulldog to shoot a lower score on Friday, as compared to Thursday. Nurse bumped up to a tie for 21st overall with her two-round total of 87-86–173.
The lineup of five was rounded out by Eschliman (85-94–179; T-29th), Ashley Gerczynski (98-103–201; T-43rd) and Sarah Wilson (102-107–209; 49th). In addition, Ericka Kroeker competed as an individual and shot 113-117–230 (56th). Eschliman’s 85 on day one represented a career low. The lineup will get a boost in the near future when freshman Emery Custer makes her collegiate debut.
Next up will be the Lila Frommelt Fall Classic hosted by Briar Cliff on Sept. 14-15. Both rounds of the tournament will be held at Green Valley Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa. The Bulldogs placed sixth out of 11 teams at last year’s Frommelt Classic.