The Valparaiso University women’s golf team began the final tournament of the fall season on Monday with a visit to the Braun Intercollegiate hosted by fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville. Valpo took a step forward by trimming 10 strokes from its best round at last week’s MVC Fall Preview. The two-day Braun event features only two rounds with 18 holes taking place each day.  

How It Happened

• The top Valpo player on Monday was freshman Payton Hodson (Middleton, Wis. / Middleton), who led the team by carding an 81. She is tied for 21^st overall.
• Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) was close behind with an 82, which sits at t-27 entering Tuesday’s second and final round.
• Kayla Krueger (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake) and Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind. / Lake Central) provided the other two scores that counted toward Valpo’s team score as each posted an 85 on Monday.
• Valpo’s team score of 333 is tied with UIC for 10^th among the 13 participating schools. Valpo enters the second round with a four-stroke edge on Eastern Illinois and 30-stroke lead on Tennessee State. Valpo is just two strokes behind the host Purple Aces.  
• Southern Illinois holds the overall team lead at 317, one stroke lower than second-place Northern Kentucky. The individual leader is IUPUI’s Marion DeBove, who carded a 70.

Up Next

The final day of the fall season will be on Tuesday as Valpo competes in 18 more holes in the Braun Intercollegiate at Evansville.