The Valparaiso University women’s golf team showed noteworthy improvement on the first day of its second meet of the spring, finishing Wednesday in sixth place of nine teams with a score of 330. The Crusaders received strong individual showings from a pair of freshmen in Round 1 of the Bulldog Florida Invitational, an event hosted by Butler at Windsor Parke in Jacksonville, Fla.

How It Happened

• A senior and a freshman shared the team lead as Angie Kim and Tiffany Curtis each stroked an 82 (+10). They currently sit in a tie for 19^th overall.
• Katie Willenbrink was just a stroke off the pace set by her Crusader teammates, as she posted an 83 (+11) and is tied for 21^st overall.
• Madison McCreary also had a strong day, joining Willenbrink as part of the tie for 21^st at 83.
• Freshman Kayla Krueger competed as an individual and notched an 84, tying for 28^th overall.
• Kylie Shoemake rounded out the team participants for the Crusaders with an 86, while Kiana Jongsma (87) and Sydney Shrum (97) both joined Krueger in competing as individuals.

Inside the Round

• Stetson owns the team lead in the event at 310 (+22), four strokes ahead of second-place High Point.
• The Crusaders are just two strokes behind fifth-place Lipscomb and five strokes off the pace of Butler and Western Carolina, who are tied for third. Valpo owns a narrow one-stroke edge on seventh-place Newberry College.
• The team score of 330 was a full nine strokes better than Valpo’s best round of the Ball State Sunshine Invite last month and 17 strokes better than its Round 1 score in that event.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jon Haas

“This was a tremendous improvement from our tournament last month. I’m extremely pleased with the entire team’s play today. Getting an 82 and an 84 from the freshman class was great.”

Up Next

The Crusaders will continue competition in the Bulldog Florida Invite on Thursday.