The Valparaiso University men’s golf team closed out a runner-up finish on Tuesday morning at the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate, hosted by Missouri State at the par-71, 6760-yard Twin Oaks Intercollegiate in Springfield, Mo. The Beacons were led by Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]), who earned a runner-up finish in the tournament, which was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather on Monday afternoon. The team shattered the modern program record for 36-hole tournament team score, while Kostouros tied for the program record for individual 36-hole tournament score.

How It Happened

• Valpo posted a 282 in Round 2 to finish with a team score of 560 (-8), second only to team champion Oral Roberts, which finished at 553 (-15). The Beacons boasted a runner-up finish in the 16-team field and topped a group of six Missouri Valley Conference participants. Valpo fended off third-place Wichita State by three strokes.
• Speaking of runner-up finishes, Kostouros was second of 89 on the player leaderboard with a 36-hole score of 137 (-5). He turned in a 70 (-1) in Round 2 and finished the event two strokes behind Oral Roberts’ Dustin Hasley, the individual medalist.
• The team’s best second-round score came courtesy of Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield), whose 69 (-2) helped him finish the tournament at 140 (-2). He enjoyed a top-10 finish, completing the two rounds tied for eighth.
• Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) finished up the event with a 72 (+1) in Round 2 to total 141 (-1) over the 36 holes, which put him at t-12. Sam Booth (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) carded even par in each of the two rounds to tie for 14^th with a 142.  

Inside the Round

• Valpo’s 36-hole score of 560 (-8) obliterated the previous program record for 36-hole tournament score. The previous program record for 36-hole tournament low was 580 at the Butler Spring Invitational in April 2019. The previous record for 36-hole tournament low in relation to par was +8 at the CSU Cougar Classic on Sept. 22-23, 2014.
• By carding a 137 (-5), Kostouros equaled the program records set by Zach Cutler at the Notre Dame Kick Off Classic in September 2016 for both 36-hole tournament overall score and score in relation to par.
• Delisanti’s 140 (-2) ranked third in program history for 36-hole tournament low, both in terms of overall score and relation to par.
• Four different Valpo golfers cracked the top-10 in program history in 36-hole tournament score during this event. In addition to Kostouros and Delisanti, VanArragon (141, -1) and Booth (142, E) also entered the record book. In overall score, VanArragon is now tied for fourth, while Booth is tied for sixth.  In relation to par, VanArragon’s performance is fourth and Booth’s is tied for fifth.
• Valpo had the best par-3 scoring average in the tournament field at 3.02. Kostouros had the lowest par-3 scoring average in the tournament at 2.80, while Delisanti tied for second at 2.90.
• The Beacons produced 34 birdies and one eagle in the tournament. Booth led the squad in birdie production with nine.
• Kostouros achieved his second top-10 finish and first top-5 finish of the season. Delisanti finished in the top 10 for the fourth time this year.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“This is our fourth tournament this year with a runner-up team finish. While we have been close to bringing home the team title in all four of these events, the experience has been invaluable.  It’s not easy to win any of these tournaments, where there can be seven to 23 teams. The fact that our players are putting ourselves in position to win is very gratifying. We had a lot of putts drop for us yesterday and the birdie production was terrific. With the resumption of the tournament this morning, we had a handful of birdies to get us started, but we couldn’t get enough of the putts to drop to finish the final round.”

“The guys bounced back and responded very well to a disappointing tournament last week in Phoenix. They played with a lot of confidence this weekend and they made excellent decisions on the course throughout both rounds. This was clearly evident with the 22 birdies from the team in the first round. That has been our best team birdie production in a single round this year. We only had two double bogeys in the 12 total rounds this weekend and both of those were a result of a missed green in regulation and a 3-putt. The guys managed the golf course very well all weekend.”

“Sam led our team in total birdies with nine over the two rounds. Yianni had eight birdies and an eagle, but his seven birdies and five in a row yesterday was really special. Each one of the guys had solid birdie production and the ball-striking was excellent. Despite not being able to practice on actual grass this spring outside of our tournament play, the guys are getting sharper with their ball-striking every round.  Our team was thrilled to see Yianni finish runner-up individually in the tournament and he was very steady for us the entire 36 holes. We can’t wait to get back at it again this coming week.”

Up Next

The Beacons will return to the course next week for the Butler Spring Invitational beginning on Monday, March 28 at Highland CC in Indianapolis.