OMAHA, Neb. – While making a bid for a tournament championship, the Concordia University Women’s Golf team ultimately placed as the runner up at the 2023 College of Saint Mary Spring Classic. The Bulldogs wound up five strokes behind first-place Northwestern at the two-day event (April 12-13) held at Tiburon Golf Club in Omaha, Neb. Individually, Emery Custer, Logan Eschliman and Lauren Havlat each placed in the top 10 in a field of 43 competitors that battled through significant wind gusts.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad shot a two-round total of 359-365–724. Concordia placed above College of Saint Mary (742), Nebraska Wesleyan (768), Hastings (793), Doane (814) and Peru State (850).
“It was absolutely brutal conditions the last couple days,” Muller said. “When you have zero players shoot in the 70s on either day, that kind of displays how gnarly the winds were here. I was proud of the way we played the last two days. It was nice to see us put three girls in the top 10. It’s probably been a while since we’ve had that, so it was a strong showing overall.”
The two rounds of action were characterized by both warm and blustery conditions in Omaha. The freshman Custer of Broken Bow, Neb., managed to shoot two sub-90s scores (86-89–175) while placing in a tie for third. She finished three strokes off the tournament co-leaders. Next in line, teammates Eschliman (89-92–181) placed sixth and Havlat (94-88–182) shared seventh place. The most recent occurrence that saw Concordia place three players in the top 10 (in a tournament of similar size or greater) was back in September 2020 when Kendra Placke, Andrea Peterson and Havlat found their way into the top 10 of the Matthew Goette Fall Classic.
The rest of the Bulldog contingent the past couple days included Mya Nurse (90-96–186; 12th), Sarah Wilson (105-114–219; T-35th), Ericka Kroeker (116-120–236; 40th) and Ashley Gerczynski (108-WD). Nurse finished four strokes short of placing inside the top 10.
Concordia CSM Classic scores (par 72-72–144):
T3. Emery Custer: 86-89–175
6. Logan Eschliman: 89-92–181
T7. Lauren Havlat: 94-88–182
12. Mya Nurse: 90-96–186
T35. Sarah Wilson: 105-114–219
40. Ericka Kroeker: 116-120–236
Ashley Gerczynski: 108-WD
Another two-day event is coming up early next week. The Bulldogs will be headed to Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the Bent Tree Intercollegiate Showcase (April 17-18) hosted by Iowa Western Community College. The action is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. CT on both days. That event will be the final tune up prior to the GPAC Championships (May 1-2).