A strong opening round from the Valparaiso University women’s golf team has the Crusaders sitting in fourth place after the first day of competition at the Horizon League Championship from Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

No Crusader golfer shot worse than 84 on Friday as Valpo posted a team score of 325 over the opening 18 holes to end Friday in fourth position. The Crusaders enter Saturday’s second round just two strokes back of Cleveland State in third place.

A pair of Crusaders sit within the top-10 of the individual standings after the opening round. Junior Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd) played the final five holes of her round in two-under-par to finish the first round at 78, good for a tie for sixth position. Meanwhile, sophomore Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) was consistent throughout on Friday, not carding any birdies but also not carding anything worse than a bogey as she shot an opening-round 79, ending the day in a tie for ninth.

The final three Crusaders all shot rounds of 84 on Friday to enter Saturday’s second round in a tie for 22^nd place. Sophomore Kiana Jongsma (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) tallied a pair of birdies in the opening round, while senior Sibil Gill (Kokomo, Ind./Western) opened the tournament with a birdie on the first hole. Freshman Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) posted an opening-round 84 as well to join her teammates in the middle of the pack.

Valparaiso opens the second round from Mission Inn Resort on Saturday morning at 7:20 a.m. CT, as Shoemake will be the first Crusader off the tee. Live scoring is available via ValpoAthletics.com.