(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals Men's Golf team opens up their fall 2022 season this upcoming Monday as they will play host to multiple teams at the Cardinal Classic Invitational that will be held at the Washtenaw Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday, September 12-13.
Head Coach Elizabeth Komurka opens up her third season as the head coach of Concordia's men's and women's programs. "The Men's Team has quite a number of seniors coming back, all bringing a lot of experience to the table," said Komurka. "Add our freshman, Zak Schroeder, to the mix, and I think we're going to see a year of team building really pay off this fall and spring. We're in the middle of the changing of the guard, with Neil Heinlein starting to fill shoes that will be left by Captain Travis Lysiak, while Zak steps up and hopes to fill a starting line-up gap left by Zack Burk. We'll see how it all shakes out (I can't wait!!), and it looks like the competitive ability of our team is really on the rise."
Returning Players
The Cardinals return several players from last season as seven golfers are back at Concordia. Leading the pack are the seniors Andrew Burk, Will Hieber, Joshua Line, Travis Lysiak, and Dalton Stiegler, Two sophomores return to the team this upcoming season as Neil Heinlein and Gibson Wilke will be back for their second season. The team features a lone freshman in Zakary Schroeder.
Neil Heinlein made a statement in his first season as a Cardinal as he set multiple records throughout the season including tying a record-low 73, last fall, while also setting the record for a two-day score of 153 twice last season. Heinlein ended the season with a 78.87 average through 15 rounds in 2021-22.
Other top returners for the team are Joshua Line, who through 10 rounds last year put up an average of 82.8, while Dalton Stiegler and Will Hieber both ended their respective seasons with averages in the 80s at 84 and 86 respectively. Travis Lysiak, Gibson Wilke, and Andrew Burk are also returning as they averaged 92.1, 93.75, and 93.86 respectively.
Team Season Highlight
Another highlight of the season was a team two-day low score of 654 which is the lowest score in team history for a two-round event. Apart of that team were Heinlein, Line, Lysiak, and Steigler. Heinlein, Line, and Steigler made themselves a part of the record books as they are now first, second and third respectively for a two-round event.
2022 Fall Schedule
Following the Cardinal Classic, the team will travel to the LTU Blue Devil Classic at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, MI on September 19 and 20. Later that same week, the Cardinals will travel to the IU-East Invitational at the Delaware Country Club in Muncie, IN on Friday, September 23. Closing out the September schedule is the WHAC Fall Preview at Stotin Brae Golf Club in Augusta, MI on the 26th and 27th.
The Cardinals will travel to two meets in October on the 3rd and 4th they head to Warren Golf Club in South Bend, IN for the Saints Classic. The final event of the fall will be the Lourdes Invitational on October 10th at the Sylvania Country Club in Sylvania, OH.
The Cardinals will then prepare for their 2023 Spring season, with the schedule to be determined.
