Valparaiso University women’s golfer Shelby Schier (Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove) enjoyed the best score of her young Crusader career on Tuesday at the Benbow Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla. Golfing as an individual, the Valpo freshman turned in a 79 in the second and final round of the event.

How It Happened

• Schier’s score marked a considerable improvement from her 92 in Round 1 and allowed her to finish the 36-hole event at 171, a score good enough to earn a tie for 41^st.
• The top Crusader among those who counted toward the team scoring on Tuesday was Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind. / Lake Central), who also notched a 79. She finished in 33^rd place individually with a two-round score of 165.
• Sophomore Kayla Krueger (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake) followed up a strong opening round with an 83 in Round 2 to finish with the best 36-hole score of any Crusader at 160, a number that tied her for 18^th overall.
• Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) made a five-stroke improvement from Monday by carding an 81 on Tuesday, while Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind. / Penn) trimmed three strokes of her Round 1 score to finish Round 2 at 84 and Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind. / Batesville) made a steep 10-stroke drop to post an 83.
• As a team, Valpo improved by 10 strokes in Round 2, carding a 326 to finish the two-day event at 662, good enough for seventh of 10 in the team standings.

Inside the Round

• Schier’s previous personal best was an 82, achieved in the second round of the Loyola Fall Invitational on Sept. 18.
• Shoemake equaled her season best with her 79 on Tuesday. This marks the third time this year she’s achieved that score and first since the final round of the Loyola Fall Invitational on Sept. 19.
• The Crusaders finished five strokes in back of The Citadel, which placed sixth at 657. Valpo topped eighth-place Eastern Illinois by seven strokes.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jon Haas

“Today the improved course conditions coupled with better course management allowed us to make some significant improvement from our first round. We’ve been waiting for Shelby to post a round in the 70s. She’s shown that she is more than capable of doing that since she stepped foot on campus in August.”

Up Next

The Crusaders will next be in action on Sunday, March 25 as they partake in the first of two days at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.