The Valparaiso University women's golf team played the first 18 holes of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Sunday at the par-72, 5954-yard TPC at Deere Run course in Silvis, Ill. Junior Keira Cotter (Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada / Guelph [Lake Superior State]) had the team's top Round-1 score. Sunday featured challenging weather conditions, and the beginning of the round was delayed by frost.
 
How It Happened

• Cotter finished the day with an 84, owning the team lead by one stroke. She is tied for 36^th of 55. Cotter, who missed much of the season with an injury, birdied the 15^th hole.
• Freshman Katie Estridge (Biloxi, Miss. / Biloxi) was second on the team, one stroke behind Cotter with an 85.
• Senior Taylor Skibinski (Michigan City, Ind. / Michigan) started her final collegiate tournament with an 87 in the opening round. She birdied the par-4 11^th hole to highlight her round.
• With two rounds to go, Valpo is in 11^th on the team leaderboard with a 346. Murray State leads the way at 304, while Ella Scherer of the Racers and Alyssa Mixon of Bradley hold the top spot as each player carded a 73 in the first round.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jill McCoy
"This was a lot of golf course today and tough conditions. We'll put in a lot of practice this evening and hopefully be better prepared for tomorrow."
 
Up Next
The Beacons will play the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Monday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. There is anticipated frost on Monday morning, so tee times will begin at 10:30 a.m. CT. A link to live scoring via Clippd will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.