After inclement weather caused the cancellation of the first day of competition, the Valparaiso University women’s golf team cranked up the Braun Intercollegiate on Tuesday at Oak Meadow CC in Evansville, Ind. The event consisted of just one 18-hole round due to the first round being washed out on Monday. The Crusaders turned in a strong showing on the final day of fall competition, placing eighth of 13.

How It Happened

• Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind. / Penn) led the way for Valpo, turning in an 82 despite playing in unfavorable weather conditions. She tied for 28^th overall.
• Sophomore Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) stroked an 83, which put her in a tie for 37^th overall.
• Junior Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind. / Batesville) was third on the team and tied for 47^th overall with an 85.
• Junior Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind. / Lake Central) and sophomore Kayla Krueger joined the aforementioned trio in competing for team score, while freshmen Grace McMinn (Omaha, Neb. / Marian) and Shelby Schier (Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove) played as individuals.
• As a team, the Crusaders turned in a 336 to finish ahead of Evansville, Lipscomb, Green Bay, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State. The Crusaders finished two strokes in front of Lipscomb and Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville, which tied for ninth. Valpo was six strokes in back of UIC for seventh.
• Butler and Southern Illinois shared the team title, while Butler’s Rachel Gathof was the individual medalist.

Inside the Round

• Willenbrink finishes the fall season with a team-leading 81.50 scoring average.
• McCreary concludes the fall second on the squad at 82.22, followed closely by Shoemake at 82.89.
• Willenbrink has an 82.32 career average going into the spring season, which ranks fifth in program history for career scoring average. Shoemake enters the spring at 83.50 for her career, which ranks seventh.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jon Haas

“I’m really pleased with the mental toughness the team displayed today playing in adverse conditions. There were definitely a lot of positives to take away from the past two weeks.”

Up Next

That concludes the fall season for the Crusaders, who will return to the course to crack up the spring portion of the slate on Friday, Feb. 9, the first day of the Ball State Sunshine Invitational in Port St. Lucie, Fla.