The Valparaiso University women’s golf team took the course with a group of competitors filled with its Missouri Valley Conference peers on Monday at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kan. Wichita State hosted Day 1 of the Missouri Valley Conference Fall Preview, which features all 10 MVC programs plus the host Shockers.

How It Happened

• Junior Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind. / Batesville) paced the squad on the opening day of competition, shooting a team-best 157 through 36 holes. She carded an 80 in the first round before improving to a 77 in Round 2. She is tied for 25^th individually going into Tuesday’s final round.
• Senior Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind. / Penn) finished Day 1 four strokes behind McCreary at 161. She also bettered her score from Round 1 to Round 2, cutting down three strokes from 82 to 79. Willenbrink is tied for 40^th going into the final day.
• Sophomore Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) shined in the opening round of competition, turning in a team-best 78. Through two rounds, her total score of 162 places her in 44^th overall.
• As a team, Valpo carded a 326 in the first round and followed with a 323 in Round 2. The Crusaders’ 36-hole score of 649 places them in 10^th of 11. They own a 24-stroke lead on 11^th-place Evansville and sit within 14 strokes of ninth-place Drake.

Inside the Rounds

• McCreary now owns the two best rounds by any Crusader this season. She notched a 76 in the second round of the Redbird Invitational on Sept. 11 prior to her 77 in Monday’s second round.
• Curtis established a personal season best with her 78 in Round 1. Her career best of 76 occurred in last season’s Horizon League Championships.
• Willenbrink also posted her top 18-hole score of the year by carding a 79 in Round 2.
• Valpo had 13 birdies as a team, led by Krueger and McCreary with four apiece.
• Curtis led the team in Par 3 scoring average (3.25), McCreary paced the squad in Par 4 scoring average (4.35) and Willenbrink led the way in Par 5 scoring average (5.25).

Thoughts from Head Coach Jon Haas

“It was nice to play in our first Missouri Valley event. The players responded well to a tough course. There are a lot of positives to take away from today, but the biggest takeaway was closing the scoring gap between ourselves and the rest of the conference teams. We’ve got a couple schools within reach tomorrow that we are going to try to overtake.”

Up Next

The third and final round of the MVC Fall Preview will occur on Tuesday. A link to live scoring is available on ValpoAthletics.com.