A Valparaiso University men's golf lineup filled with players who have improved their scoring averages from last season will take the course with hopes of bringing it all together at the right time as the Beacons compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship beginning this weekend.
 
After Saturday's practice round, the three-day, 54-hole event hosted by Drake will tee off on Easter Sunday at the par-72, 7267-yard Des Moines Golf & Country Club north course in West Des Moines, Iowa.
 
This will mark the final conference championship for senior Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield), who owns a conference-best scoring average of 69.46, in position to break the program's single-season scoring record. Delisanti, ranked 144^th nationally by Clippd, has finished in the top three at the MVC Championship in each of his first three seasons. He won medalist honors and earned NCAA Regional berths as a freshman and sophomore before hoisting the medalist trophy at the National Golf Invitational (NGI) last season.
 
"It's been a great four years with Deli," head coach Dave Gring said. "What a blessing it's been to coach such a great competitor. He is meticulous in his preparation. He is always well prepared for our tournaments. His body of work is incredible. It's been an honor. He's a great student-athlete with just under a 4.0 GPA. I'm looking forward to this final stretch of coaching him."
 
Delisanti has improved his scoring average by over a stroke from last season as each of the team's top six players have bettered their scoring averages from a year ago. Sophomore Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook) has made a three-stroke improvement from his rookie campaign, while Sam Booth (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) has made a similar jump of nearly three strokes from his junior to his senior season. Junior Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) has improved in limited action, while sophomore Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) and transfer Sam Schmidt (College Station, Texas / College Station [Southern Nazarene]) have moved in the right direction as well.
 
"I'm proud of these guys," Gring said. "The improvement is a tribute to them and their work ethic and what they're doing every day in practice. Each guy has stepped up and played better for us this year, and that bodes very well for us as we go into the championship."
 
The Beacons will use Saturday's practice round to gain a familiarity with the golf course.
 
"It's the first time for all of us playing there and seeing the course, so we've already been discussing it and reviewing it," Gring said. "It's an excellent course with a lot of undulation within the course and terrain where you're hitting shots down to a fairway sloping left and sloping right. There are differences in elevation. It's a wonderful championship course; they hosted the Solheim Cup there a number of years ago. It will be a great test for all of the teams."
 
The Beacons have finished in the top half of the field in each of the last four MVC Championships including two runner-up finishes and three top 3s. A link to live scoring via Clippd will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
 
"As far as keys for us, it's really a lot of the same things that we've been focused on this year, very fundamental things. We have to have accuracy off the tee, hitting the fairways so we can have good approach shots into the greens. It's not a particularly long course, but our wedge play is going to have to be sharp. We have to have great proximity to the holes to have chances at birdie. It goes without saying that we're going to have to putt well. If we can get off the tee well and have good accuracy and good proximity to the holes for birdie, that's going to lead to good things for us."