A program that has enjoyed top-5 finishes at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in each of the last five seasons will look to continue its tradition of postseason success as the Valparaiso University men's golf team sets its sights on the season's most important tournament, beginning on Sunday at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill.
 
"All five of the guys who are going to be starting for us have played all season, with each of them participating in nine or 10 events," head coach Dave Gring said. "They come in with a lot of tournament experience and they're ready to roll. It was a growing season for us after we graduated four seniors last year. We've had a lot of growth personally, in the classroom and certainly on the golf course. We gained a lot of experience throughout the season, now we need to play our best golf in the postseason."
 
Redshirt junior Ryan Somerville (Aurora, Ontario / Aurora) enters the MVC Championship with the team's top scoring average at 74.15. He carries momentum with him into the championship after posting a career-best 70 in the final round of the Iowa's Hawkeye Invitational on Tuesday.
 
"Ryan has really been working on his putting, and he's got that going really well entering the MVC Championship," Gring said. "He's had gradual improvement all spring, and now it is really blossoming. He's a good ball-striker and knocks it close to the hole, so when he's making those putts, it's very exciting to see."
 
Junior Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville), who ranks second on the team in scoring average this season, has experienced past success at the MVC Championship, as he tied for fourth and earned All-MVC honors as a freshman in 2024.
 
"Adam brings great experience having played in the conference championship as a freshman and sophomore," Gring said. "He's very steady for us and very talented. He comes in with a lot of confidence because he knows what it takes in this championship. He's also a great ball-striker – he's the top player on our team in terms of hitting fairways and greens."
 
This will mark Valpo's first time playing the course at Annbriar.
 
"It's not a long course, it's definitely shorter than what we typically play," Gring said. "There is a lot of sloping in the fairways and a lot of movement, so hitting fairways on the tee is going to be important. It's a traditional country club with a lot of greens sloping from back to front. There are smaller greens compared to the last tournament we played in Iowa. It's a course that is not heavily bunkered. The other thing I found interesting is that on 15 of the holes, we tee higher hitting down. There's only one hole that we tee below hitting up, and a couple are flat. The par 5s are gettable and the par 3s are reasonable, so accuracy off the tee and proximity to the hole will be paramount for us."