Valparaiso University Sports Update, September 14, 2016

By: Valparaiso University Last Updated: September 14, 2016

Crusaders Fall at Bowling Green
Taking on its first mid-week opponent of the season, the Valparaiso University volleyball team fell in three sets (25-8, 25-23, 25-21) at Bowling Green Tuesday evening.

How It Happened

The Falcons blitzed the Crusaders in the first set, hitting at a .556 clip and scoring 14 of the match’s first 15 points.
Valpo ran out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but BGSU came back to lead 9-8 as the teams went on to trade runs throughout the frame. Following a block late in the set, the Crusaders led 22-20 before the Falcons scored five of the final six points to go ahead two sets to none.
The two squads were tied 17 times in the third set and exchanged the lead on five occasions. The Crusaders led a couple times late, including a 20-19 edge after a BGSU service error, but gave up six of the match’s final seven points as Bowling Green completed the sweep.

Inside the Game

The Crusaders hit just .091 with 25 kills for the match, while BGSU hit .254 with 43 kills.
Junior Taylor Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Upper Sandusky) led Valpo with seven kills, while sophomore Kayla Currier (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) tallied six kills on just nine swings.
Senior Rachel Bruinsma (New Era, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) paced the Crusaders in the back row with 13 digs, while sophomore Sydney Bronner (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth) was in on four of the Crusaders’ six team blocks.

Next Up
The Crusaders (6-5) play their final in-season tournament of the year this weekend at the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge. The tournament kicks off Friday, Sept. 16 as Valpo faces #19 Ohio State and the host Cardinals. The match against BSU will be broadcast live on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app, while both matches will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Valpo Men Finish Golfweek Program Challenge Tuesday
The Valparaiso University men’s golf team saw two individuals post top-25 finishes as the Crusaders finished in 14th position as a team at the Golfweek Program Challenge on Tuesday from True Blue G.C. in Pawley’s Island, S.C.

How It Happened

The Crusaders posted a final round team score of 293 on Tuesday to close out the 54-hole event with a team score of 880, just one stroke back of 13th position.
Junior Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) posted Valpo’s best round on Tuesday, shooting a one-under 71 and finishing the tournament in a tie for 45th position with a three-round total of 218.
Both senior Peter Webb (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) and junior Zach Cutler (O’Fallon, Mo./Timberland) finished the 54 holes under par to earn top-25 spots. Webb carded a 73 on Tuesday to finish at 214, good for a tie for 22nd position, while Cutler shot a final-round 75 and finished in a tie for 24th place at 215.
All five Crusaders shot 75 or better for the final round. Freshman Ross Lazar (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) posted his best round of the tournament by shooting a 75, finishing the three-day event with a total of 234, while sophomore Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) improved by seven shots from Monday to Tuesday, recording a 74 to close the tournament at 239.

Inside the Round

The Crusaders’ three-round score of 880 is tied for seventh-best in program history by stroke count, while in relation to par, the +16 total is fifth-best all-time. Each of Valpo’s four trips to the Golfweek Program Challenge ranks among the top-seven by 54-hole stroke count and among the top-five by 54-hole score in relation to par.
Webb’s 54-hole score of 214 is tied for tenth-best in program history by stroke count, and his total of -2 is tied for sixth-best. 13 individuals have gone under par for 54 holes since the program’s resumption, with Webb owning a program-best five of those marks.
Webb carded five birdies on Tuesday, while Cutler, Doherty and Wittmann each registered three birdies apiece. For the tournament, Webb finished with a team-best 14 birdies, just two off the top mark in the field.
Webb finished the tournament at -8 on the par-5s, just one stroke off the best performance in the field on the course’s longest holes. Both Cutler and Wittmann closed out the event at -1 on the par-3s.

Next Up
The Crusaders head to Fort Collins, Colo. next week for the Ram Masters Invitational, hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins C.C. The two-day tournament begins on Monday, Sept. 19.

Crusader Women Set Record To Close Out Golfweek Program Challenge
The Valparaiso University women’s golf team broke the program record for team score in a 54-hole tournament as the Crusaders closed out the Golfweek Program Challenge from Caledonia G.C. in Myrtle Beach, S.C. in 15th place on Tuesday.

How It Happened

The Crusaders continued their consistent team play on the final day of the three-day tournament, shooting a 315 in the final round to best each of their first two rounds by one stroke apiece. Valpo’s three-round total of 947 broke the program’s previous 54-hole scoring record of 950.
Leading the way Tuesday and overall for the Crusaders was junior Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn). Willenbrink carded a 74 in the final round, just one stroke off of her career best and the Crusaders’ best round of the tournament. The junior finished the tournament with a three-round total of 230, good for a tie for 34th place.
Freshman Kayla Krueger (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) closed out the tournament with a round of 81, with her total of 236 good for a tie for 48th position. Senior Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd) recorded her best round of the event on Tuesday, shooting a 79 to finish in a tie for 59th with a 241 total.
Rounding out Valpo’s five-player team were sophomore Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) - who shot a final-round 83 to close out the tournament at 242, tied for 65th place – and freshman Tiffany Curtis (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) – who shot her best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a final-round 81, finishing at 261.

Inside the Round

The program’s previous best 54-hole tournament score came back at the 2013 Horizon League Championship, where the Crusaders posted a three-round total of 950.
While the team set the scoring record by stroke count, their total in relation to par (+95) was only third-best in a three-round tournament, as Valpo set that mark at +81 at the 2014 Horizon League Championship.
Willenbrink’s three-round score of 230 is fifth-best in a 54-hole event individually in program history. In relation to par, she carded a +17, good for seventh on that chart.
The Crusaders broke their 54-hole tournament record despite not posting a single-round total among the top-10 in program history.

Next Up
The Crusaders head to the West Coast early next week, as they travel to Pullman, Wash. to compete at the Cougar Cup, hosted by Washington State at Palouse Ridge G.C. The three-round tournament kicks off with 36 holes next Monday, Sept. 19.

Valpo Men’s Tennis Announces 2016 Fall Schedule
Valparaiso University men’s tennis head coach Jim Daugherty announced today his squad’s schedule for the 2016 fall campaign. The slate kicks off this weekend with a pair of tournaments, including the annual Valpo Fall Invitational.

The Crusaders will welcome players from Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Washington University in St. Louis to campus at the Valpo Tennis Complex this weekend for the Valpo Fall Invitational. The two-day tournament begins Friday at noon, with action on Saturday getting underway at 9 a.m. Select Crusaders will be traveling this weekend to compete at the Duke James Bonk Invite, a three-day event which starts on Friday.

Valpo will play at Toledo’s Rocket Invitational to close out September, and then head down to the ITA All-American Championships, which begin Oct. 1 in Tulsa, Okla. and run through Oct. 10. As announced yesterday by the ITA, Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) will receive a berth in the qualifying draw of the singles division, while Schorsch and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) are in the qualifying draw of the doubles division. Other Valpo athletes will begin play at the tournament in pre-qualifying action.

The Crusaders will host their second tournament of the fall campaign Oct. 14-16, as they put on the Crusader Indoor Invitational at the Courts of NWI for the second straight season. That same weekend sees Schorsch head out to Malibu, Calif. for the Oracle/ITA Masters tournament, an invite-only event open to the top returning player in each Division I conference.

Valpo heads to Columbus, Ohio for the ITA Midwest Regional Championships Oct. 20-24. The fall schedule closes Oct. 28-30 at the Illinois State Invitational.

Men’s Basketball League Broadcast Schedule Announced
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will have nine of its 18 Horizon League games broadcast by the league’s television partners this year, as announced by the league office over the last two days. Seven of the Crusaders’ league games will be on the ESPN family of networks, highlighted by a pair of appearances on ESPN2, while a pair of games will be broadcast on the American Sports Network.

Each of the Crusaders’ first three league contests will be broadcast, starting at UIC on Friday, Dec. 30, which will tip at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. Valpo’s league home opener against Oakland on Friday, Jan. 6 will be live on ESPN2 from the ARC at 8 p.m., while its game two days later against Detroit will tip at noon on ASN.

UIC comes to the ARC on Sunday, Jan. 22 for a 2 p.m. start on ASN. Later that week, on Friday, Jan. 27, the Crusaders welcome Wright State to town for a game which will be a flex selection – either on ESPNU at 8 p.m. or an ESPN3 exclusive at 7 p.m. Determination on the broadcast outlet will be made a few weeks in advance of the game.

Both of the Crusaders’ games on the Wisconsin road swing – at Milwaukee on Thursday, Feb. 2 and at Green Bay on Saturday, Feb. 4 – will be ESPN3 exclusive broadcasts. Two weeks later, the Michigan road swing will feature a pair of broadcasts as well, as Valpo plays at Oakland at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17 on ESPN2 and at Detroit on Sunday, Feb. 19 on an ESPN3 exclusive.

The Horizon League Championship will also be carried over the ESPN family of networks. The first two rounds will be ESPN3 exclusive broadcasts, while the first semifinal will be broadcast on ESPNEWS and the second semifinal on ESPNU. The title game is set for 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Mar. 6 and will be broadcast either on ESPN or ESPN2.

The remainder of the league schedule, as well as Valpo’s entire non-league regular season home schedule, will be carried on ESPN3. In addition, the Crusaders could potentially play on ESPN2 in the championship game of the MGM Grand Main Event, while Valpo’s game at Oregon will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. A broadcast selection is still pending as well for the Crusaders’ game at Kentucky.