The Valparaiso University women’s golf team finds itself atop the leaderboard halfway through the Benbow Invitational, hosted by Butler at Jacksonville Beach G.C. in Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

The Crusaders shot a round of 312 as a team in the opening round of the two-round event Monday to top the field halfway through the competition. Valpo sits nine shots clear of a second-place tie between Northern Kentucky and The Citadel entering Tuesday’s final round.

Valpo also boasts the top-two individual golfers through the opening 18 holes. Sophomore Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) paced the field on Monday with a first-round 73, while junior Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd) closed the day one shot back of Willenbrink with a 74, good for a tie for second.

Junior Sydney Shrum (Cloverdale, Ind./Cloverdale) shot an opening-round 81 to end the day in a tie for 15^th, while senior Sibil Gill (Kokomo, Ind./Western) and freshman Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) posted scores of 84 and 88, respectively, to round out the five-player Crusader squad. Playing as individuals, sophomore Kiana Jongsma (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) shot an 83 on Monday, while freshman Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) registered a round of 85.

Valparaiso looks to close out the event win with 18 more holes on Tuesday from Jacksonville Beach.