Low, Lower, Lowest

MOORHEAD, Minn. (8/30/14)—Concordia shot one of its lowest two-round tournament scores in program history but came up two shots short and finished in third place at the season-opening Concordia Invite.

Cobber head coach Duane Siverson can only hope that the rest of the fall season is as exciting as the first tournament. "Wow," exclaimed Siverson. "It was good golf and very exciting."

The Cobbers finished with a final team total of 572 which was one shot behind second-place Bethel at 571 and two shots shy of tournament champion University of Manitoba at 570. Last year Concordia finished in second place at the tournament with a team score of 584. All three of the top teams posted final tournament totals which were under par.

The Cobbers had a pair of players in the top 3 and four of their top 5 finished in the top 11. Senior Sam Christian and sophomore Cade Montplaisir tied for third place with a two-round total of 141. Both athletes shot in the low 70's on Friday at Village Green GC in Moorhead and then carded final totals in the 60's on Saturday at the Meadows.

Neither Christian nor Montplaisir had a top 5 finish in all of the 2013-14 season and neither athlete had a round in the 60's in all of last season. Christian's 67 on Saturday was one shot lower than the best round for any Cobber since the 2010-11 season.

Sophomore Trevor Swangler placed in the top 10 as he fired scores of 74 and 70 and finished in seventh place. His final total of 144 was even par for the two-day affair. Senior Coy Papachek came home in 11th place with a final total of 146. Papachek was in a tie for fourth place after the first round when he carded a 70. He then slipped seven spots in the standings after shooting a 76 on Saturday.

Max Smith and David Vaughan were the final members of the CC team who finished in the top 20. Smith fired a 76-77 and tied for 17th place while Vaughan was tied for 19th with a two-day total of 154.

The Cobbers will now head to the Augsburg Invitational next weekend. Concordia will play at Majestic Oak GC on Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7.