The Valparaiso University men’s golf team finished in a tie for sixth place with a three-round score of 1108 in a six-count-five format at Ball State’s Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational in Muncie on Saturday. Senior Peter Webb (Madison, Wis. / James Madison Memorial) had another strong performance, stroking a 69 on the final day of competition to finish with a three-round total of 209, placing third in an 85-player field.

How It Happened

• Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill. / Naperville North) carded a 76 in Round 3 to finish at 222, tied for 26^th and second on the Crusaders.
• Matthew McCarthy (O’Fallon, Ill. / Althoff Catholic) rounded out his weekend with a 78 on Saturday for a three-round total of 223, tied for 31^st.  
• Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna) posted a 78 in Round 3 to finish at 227, tied for 47^th. 
• Nick Seitz (Xenia, Ohio / Carrol) had his best round of the event at 75 to finish at 228, tied for 55^th. 
• Adam Baracari (Normal, Ill. / University) posted a 77 to finish at 236, tied for 71^st. 

Inside the Rounds

• The Crusaders finished the event with 185 pars, tied for second in the 13-team field.
• Valpo totaled 37 birdies, led by Webb’s nine. Doherty and Seitz each contributed seven.
• Valpo struggled on Par 5 holes at 5.56, last in the tournament. They had better success on Par 4s (4.22, third) and Par 3s (3.25, fourth).
• Ball State was initially thought to be the tournament champion, but a scorecard error involving one of the Ball State players led to his disqualification, making Eastern Kentucky the tournament champion.
• The Crusaders finished in a tie with Horizon League foe Wright State in the team standings. They finished ahead of two league foes – Northern Kentucky (10^th) and Youngstown State (12^th).
• Webb finished the event one stroke under par, one stroke behind Ball State’s Michael VanDeventer and Taylor’s Alec Dutkowski, who tied for first.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

"We came out of the gates pretty slow and we didn't get the start that we were looking for - too many bogeys to start the round. We also had our challenges with the second half of the front nine, but the guys played much better on the back nine, even with the wind picking up." 

"While the birdie production was spread fairly evenly across the team today, we still need to convert more of those opportunities on the greens. We had a lot of putts today that we simply couldn't get to fall. I feel the guys are reading the greens well and hitting their marks, but we need to improve more on our speed, getting the ball closer to the hole."

"Pete has played very well for us, namely over the past four tournaments. A T7th, 1st, T3rd and 3rd place finish over those tournaments is a real testament to his ball-striking and his short game.  He has been driving the ball straight and long and his short game has been very sharp, with great chipping around the greens and making some good putts. He is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence and that is exciting heading into the conference championship next week."

Up Next

The Crusaders will next be in action when they participate in the Horizon League Championships beginning on Sunday, April 23 at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.