A special season for the Valparaiso University men’s golf team will reach a new climax in the coming days as the Beacons prepare for a week filled with postseason competition.

Two members of the program will participate in the NCAA Bath Regional as Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) earned an automatic berth by winning individual medalist honors at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the second consecutive season, while Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) became the first player in program history to earn an NCAA at-large selection. The tournament will be hosted by Michigan State at the par-71, 7126-yard Eagle Eye Golf Club, and will feature a practice round on Sunday, May 14 followed by the three-day event from May 15-17 with 18 holes each day.

The 13-team Regional field features Illinois, Florida, Texas, Oregon, Kansas State, Georgia, Liberty, San Diego, Little Rock, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois State and Purdue Fort Wayne. VanArragon and Delisanti are among the 10 additional individuals who qualified for the Bath Regional. They are joined by players from Toledo, Minnesota, Wright State (2), Notre Dame (2), Columbia and St. John’s. The top five teams plus the top individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will begin on May 26 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

VanArragon, who leads the Missouri Valley Conference with a 70.85 scoring average, achieved All-MVC status for the fourth consecutive season. He was presented with the MVC Elite 17 Award – which is bestowed upon the individual with the highest cumulative grade point average among top finishers at the MVC Championship – for the third consecutive season. VanArragon’s season scoring average is in position to shatter Valpo’s modern program record. He finished 11^th or better in all 11 of his tournaments this season, including 10 top-10 finishes. He boasts 29 career top-10 finishes including 13 of his last 14 events. VanArragon has been named the MVC Golfer of the Week 13 times in his career, the third most in conference history.

Delisanti owns the league’s second-best scoring average at 71.03, a mark that is in position to rank second in single-season program history. His 54-hole performance of 200 (-13) at the MVC Championship not only helped him win the league tournament for the second straight year, but it also shattered an MVC Championship record for 54-hole tournament score that had stood for 73 years. Delisanti had five top-2 finishes this season, was named the MVC Golfer of the Week four times and earned All-MVC honors for the second straight year. In addition, he was named the MVC Golfer of the Year and the Valparaiso University Male Athlete of the Year.

A busy week for Valpo golf continues on Thursday, May 18 as the practice round for the inaugural National Golf Invitational (NGI) will take place before the three-day, 54-hole event gets underway on Friday, May 19. The NGI, which is the equivalent of the NIT in basketball, offers invited programs the opportunity to compete in postseason competition. The tournament is being hosted by Golfweek at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. Valpo will be joined in the 13-team field by Stetson, Arkansas State, Santa Clara, Wyoming, Washington State, Troy, Oral Roberts, Texas State, Penn State, Ball State, Utah Valley and George Washington. The winner will receive an exception into the 2023 Maui Jim Intercollegiate at Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. this September.

This marks Valpo’s first team postseason event since reaching the NCAA Columbus Regional in 2013. The Beacons lead the Missouri Valley Conference with a 289.48 season scoring average and finished as the team runner-up at the MVC Championship for the second straight year. Valpo owns a season winning percentage of .754 (107-35) during a historic year for the program. The squad has finished in the top three on the team leaderboard in seven of the team’s 11 tournaments including each of its last three.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“I first want to mention our immense gratitude to all of the people who have made this historic season happen and function. While Coach Ron and I have been blessed with eight tremendous student-athletes that are rocking it in the classroom and on the golf course every day, we have staff within our Athletic Department, alumni, boosters within the community, parents and more that provide great encouragement and resources to our team. We are grateful to all of those that help us to strive for our goals and give us an opportunity to compete!”

“After we concluded the MVC Championship, I mentioned how disappointed we were in not achieving our primary goal of winning the championship. Everything works and builds toward that during the year. Our coaching staff knew that our guys were playing our best golf of the year leading into the tournament. While we played one of our best tournaments all year, it wasn't enough to advance the team to the NCAA Tournament, with the exception of Anthony Delisanti winning the individual title.”

“The body of work from the entire season was still exemplary, so we received recognition from the NCAA and the committee hosting the inaugural National Golf Invitational (NGI) to continue playing. We now have an opportunity for two of our players to compete in the NCAA Bath Regional this week with a chance to advance to the NCAA Finals at the end of this month. We have another opportunity as a team to play in the NGI this coming week and compete for a National Championship, which is the first time our golf program has ever had that opportunity.”

“We now have our finals completed and classes finished for the semester. The team has been preparing very well over these past few weeks for this upcoming week. We are going to have to play our best golf of the year to compete at both of these tournaments, and our guys are ready for it.  We’re going to have a ton of fun and keep this season rolling.”