The youth of the Valparaiso University men’s golf team continued to thrive on Tuesday at the Derek Dolenc Invitational hosted by SIU Edwardsville in Madison, Ill. Freshman Garrett Willis (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead) garnered a Top 20 finish in the 96-player event, turning in a team-best 72 (+1) in Round 3 to finish at 216. As a team, Valpo placed ninth of 17.

How It Happened

• The freshman duo of Willis and Charlie Toman (Chardon, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) finished with Valpo’s top two scores in the tournament. In addition to Willis’ 216 (+3), which put him in a tie for 19^th, Toman carded a 221 (+8) to tie for 32^nd.
• Sophomore Drew Alexander (McCordsville, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) posted an 18-hole score of 74 on Tuesday, the second best on the team. That allowed him to finish the event at t-48 with a 224.
• Sophomore Brett Seward (Aurora, Ill. / Aurora Christian) had a 228, while senior Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna) finished at 234. Matthew McCarthy (O’Fallon, Ill. / Althoff Catholic) golfed as an individual and turned in a 54-hole score of 223.

Inside the Round

• Valpo was edged by Missouri Valley Conference foe Missouri State for eighth in the standings. The Bears finished at 875, seven strokes ahead of Valpo.
• Valpo fended off Creighton by two strokes and Weber State by five strokes in the team standings. Host SIU Edwardsville was the team champion, while Kyle Slattery of the Cougars was the individual medalist at -10.
• Valpo finished ahead of three Valley teams – Drake, UNI and Loyola.
• Valpo finished fifth in total pars in the 17-team field, racking up 173. Alexander and Toman had 38 pars apiece, tied for eighth in the tournament, while Willis owned the team lead in birdies with 10.

Up Next

Valpo will return to action on Monday, Oct. 1 for the first day of the Zach Johnson Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa.