The Valparaiso University women’s golf team resumed its spring season on Sunday with the first 18 holes of the Saluki Invitational hosted by Southern Illinois at Hickory Ridge. Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind. / Lake Central) had the best round among Valpo golfers, while Kayla Krueger (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake) was one stroke off the pace set by her teammate.

How It Happened

• Shoemake’s Round 1 score of 80 led Valpo, while Krueger turned in an 81. Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) carded an 83 in her first round of the tournament.
• Valpo’s team score of 330 helped the team finish the day eighth among 14 schools. Valpo is ahead of Purdue Fort Wayne, Tennessee State, Maryville, Eastern Illinois, John A. Logan and Rend Lake. The team is just one stroke behind Omaha for seventh.
• Thilda Staubo of Indiana State led all competitors with a first-round score of 70, while the host Salukis enter Day 2 atop the team leaderboard at 229.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jill McCoy

“I’m pleased with the performances of Kylie and Kayla, who had solid rounds today. Finding consistency is key for our team right now. I am hopeful that scores will be better tomorrow. We had a few mistakes today that we are working to improve upon as we move into the second round.”

Up Next

The second round of the event will take place on Monday in Carbondale with a 9 a.m. CT shotgun start. A link to live scoring is available on ValpoAthletics.com.