In order for the Valparaiso University men’s golf team to reach its full potential this spring, head coach Dave Gring knows balanced scoring throughout the lineup will be essential. The Crusaders put that on display on Tuesday, finishing with their best team round of the week at the Bash at the Beach, hosted at The Surf Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

How It Happened

• All five Crusaders in the lineup kept their Round 3 score to 75 or better. Drew Alexander (McCordsville, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) and Matthew McCarthy (O’Fallon, Ill. / Althoff Catholic) led the way by each carding 73s.
• The rest of the lineup - Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna), Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill. / Naperville North) and Brett Seward (Aurora, Ill. / Aurora Christian) – all turned in 75s on the final day of the event.
• Seward’s 54-hole score of 221 led the team and put him in a tie for 21^st overall, while Wittmann checked in at t-33 with a 225.
• The Valpo team score of 296 was four strokes better than each of the first two rounds. The Crusaders finished with a 54-hole score of 896, which put them in seventh of nine in the tournament field.

Inside the Round

• Valpo finished tied for third in total pars with 154. The Crusaders had 30 birdies in the event, plus one eagle.
• Wittmann and Seward led the way with 35 pars apiece in the tournament, while Alexander’s 10 birdies paced the squad.
• The 296 on Tuesday marked Valpo’s second-best round of the season and best round of the spring. It was eclipsed only by the 294 in Round 1 of the SIUE Derek Dolenc Invitational on Sept. 25.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“After the first day of the tournament, we talked about focusing on a better start to our rounds. We also talked about giving ourselves more opportunities and chances for birdie. Today we accomplished both of those goals very well. We played the first nine holes even par as a team and had 10 birdies. This was an important step for us and the guys know they are capable of playing at that level, even with leaving some shots on the course.”

“The guys had much better control of the speeds of their putts today. The greens were very fast, but we knocked our irons more closely and read the greens much better. It was exciting to see us having the opportunity to make a lot of putts.”

“We also talked about finishing our rounds better and we struggled in the last three holes. The team knows the importance of this. A lot of this comes with experience and our young team is learning very quickly.”

“It is very important for us to have a balanced team score in our rounds this spring, and we had a good taste of that today. The guys were pushing and encouraging each other throughout the round. This tournament and especially today’s round gives us some good momentum into our next event.”  

Up Next

The Crusaders will continue an active spring break as they compete in the Colleton River Collegiate beginning on Monday, March 12 at Colleton River Club in Bluffton, S.C.