Junior Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) boasted the team's top score for both the round and the tournament as the Valparaiso University men's golf team closed out Belmont's Kemper Lakes Intercollegiate with the third and final round on Tuesday at the challenging par-72, 7217-yard Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer, Ill.   
 
How It Happened

• Politza posted a 54-hole score of 230, tied for 21^st of 78 in the field. He moved up nine spots on the leaderboard with his showing on Tuesday, which featured a 75 (+5), his best score of the tournament.
• Politza edged out freshman Tyler Samaan (Elgin, Ill. / Burlington) for the team's top score, as the rookie needed 231 strokes to complete the course, finishing 26^th overall after his best round of the event with a 76 on Tuesday. After teeing off from Hole 10, Samaan was even at the turn thanks to a birdie on 18.
• Redshirt senior Ryan Somerville (Aurora, Ontario / Aurora) posted a 7-over 79 in the final round to finish the tournament at t-27 with a 232.
• Drake's Jake Weissenburger was the individual medalist by five strokes with a 211, leading the Bulldogs to the team title with an 886.
• Valpo finished sixth of 12 at 929, carding a 309 in the final round. The Beacons beat Loyola Chicago, conference foe Illinois State, Weber State, Central Michigan, Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois.

Thoughts From Head Coach Dave Gring
"The Kemper Lakes Golf Course provided another solid challenge for us today. The wind picked up and was around 10 mph for most of the day. While that speed is nothing crazy, it added another condition variable that caused scores to be higher across the entire tournament field. The guys managed the wind decently, especially with the amount of water hazards on the golf course.  We had our challenges in hitting fairways and greens in regulation, so that still is an area that we need to improve. While we had a good start to today's round, we still played the Par 3s at +10 and Holes 5 and 6 that were into the wind to finish the round at +7."
 
"Both Tyler and Rob closed the final round with their best rounds of the tournament. Rob had four birdies on the day and Tyler grinded out 12 pars and one birdie. Ryan was able to put together birdies on all four of the Par 5s, with terrific course management and shot execution.  We're going to need to spend some quality time over these next two weeks and before our final fall tournament working on driving accuracy and approach shots proximity. We will look forward to finishing the fall season strong!"
 
Up Next
The Beacons will play their final tournament of the fall, the Zach Johnson Invitational, beginning on Monday, Oct. 19 at Glen Oaks CC in West Des Moines, Iowa.