The Valparaiso University women’s golf team hit the links at The Course at Aberdeen Friday for the team’s only home match of the spring season, where they are facing off with Horizon League foe Green Bay in a 54-hole dual match. The Crusaders finished the day 17 strokes clear of the Phoenix through 36 holes.

The Crusaders were paced Friday by senior Sibil Gill (Kokomo, Ind./Western). Gill posted a first-round score of 81 and the finished the second round one stroke better, shooting a round of 80. The senior finished the day with a 36-hole score of 161, putting her in second place.

Just three strokes back of Gill and sitting in third place overall sits junior Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd). Kim registered the team’s best round of the day, shooting a 79 for the second round. Kim put up an 85 in her first go-round Friday at Aberdeen, giving her a 36-hole total of 164.

Freshman Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) finds herself in third place for the Crusaders and fourth place overall, as she shot rounds of 80 and 87 to close the day at 167. Rounding out the top four scorers on Friday was junior Sydney Shrum (Cloverdale, Ind./Cloverdale), who shot an 84 and an 86 to finish at 170.

Landing just one shot behind Shrum was sophomore Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn), who ended the day at 171 through 36 holes, while freshman Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) rounded out the group of Crusader golfers at 188 through two rounds.

As a team, the Crusaders finished day one holding on to a 17-stroke lead over Green Bay, shooting rounds of 330 and 329 to post a team score of 659 versus Green Bay’s 676. Both teams are playing six golfers apiece, with the top four in each single round counting towards the team score.

The Valparaiso women will close out the final tuneup for the Horizon League Championship with one final round at Aberdeen against the Phoenix on Saturday.