The Valparaiso University men’s golf team sits in fifth place at 733 (six-count-five) in a 13-team field at Ball State’s Earl Yestingsmeier Memorial Invitational after the opening day of competition on Friday. Through two rounds, the Crusaders are ahead of three Horizon League foes in the team standings.

How It Happened

• Peter Webb (Madison, Wis. / James Madison Memorial) turned in yet another noteworthy performance, carding a 68 in Round 1 followed by a 72 in Round 2 to finish the day tied for fifth at 140. Webb was in second place after the first round. His score, which is right at par, is four strokes off the lead.
• Matthew McCarthy (O’Fallon, Ill. / Althoff Catholic) turned heads on the first day of competition. The freshman posted a 74 in the first round, then trimmed three strokes off his score in Round 2 to finish the day at 145 (+5), tied for 15^th. He had the best Round 2 score of any Crusader.
• Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill. / Naperville North) is tied for 22^nd through two rounds at 146, one stroke behind McCarthy. He too carded a 74 on the first 18 before notching a 71 on the second.
• Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna) turned in a 76 in Round 1, then bettered his score to a 73 in Round 2, finishing tied for 37^th at 149.
• Nick Seitz (Xenia, Ohio / Carrol) scored a 77 the opening round and followed with a 76 to complete the day at 153, tied for 57^th.
• Adam Baracari (Normal, Ill. / University) stroked a 77 in Round 1 and an 82 in Round 2 to enter Saturday at 159, tied for 74^th.

Inside the Rounds

• Webb has now turned in a 68 or lower in six rounds this season. He has done so 12 times in his collegiate career.
• Since the Valpo men’s golf program resumed in 2009, there have been 23 rounds of 68 or lower. Webb owns over half of those rounds.
• As a team, the Crusaders improved from 369 in the first round to 364 in the second round. They are one stroke ahead of Wright State for fifth and seven strokes in back of Taylor for fourth.
• McCarthy’s 71 was his career best. In fact, both of his rounds on Saturday eclipsed his previous watermark in his rookie campaign.
• The Crusaders are in third overall in Par 3 scoring (3.21) and Par 4 scoring (4.18), but they’re 12^th of 13 in Par 5 scoring at 5.67.
• Valpo has 24 birdies, led by Doherty and Webb with six apiece. Webb also turned in an eagle.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“Our birdie production improved in the second round versus the first round. Ball-striking was pretty good today and we seemed to drive the ball well off the tee. If we can hit some more greens in regulation tomorrow and narrow that proximity to the hole, our scoring will be even better in the third round."

"We needed to improve our scores in the second round and we accomplished that task, but we still left too many shots on the course. I'm encouraged that our scoring continues to improve this spring, but we need to avoid the double and triple bogeys by each player and our scoring will get better."

"I would like to see a few scores under par tomorrow. It was good to see Pete in the red numbers and Michael, Matt and Mitch all played well enough today to close with some good rounds tomorrow. We are looking forward to the opportunity."

Up Next

The Crusaders will continue the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational hosted by Ball State at Delaware CC with the final round on Saturday. A link to live scoring can be found on ValpoAthletics.com.