The Valparaiso University women’s golf team got out to a fifth-place start after day one of the Bulldog Florida Invitational Wednesday, hosted by Butler in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Crusaders, behind the play of two top-10 first-round scores, combined to shoot a 327 as a team, just 14 strokes behind first-place Western Michigan and only four shots out of third place.
Sophomore Katie Willenbrink (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) and junior Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd) led the way for the Crusaders on Wednesday, posting identical scores of 77 through 18 holes, tying for seventh overall and just two strokes off the individual lead.
Freshman Kylie Shoemake (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) currently sits tied for 25th overall after shooting an 83 for the Crusaders. Senior Sibil Gill (Kokomo, Ind./Western) posted an opening-round score of 90. Rounding out the five-player Crusader squad was junior Sydney Shrum (Cloverdale, Ind./Cloverdale) with a 91.
Playing as individuals for the Crusaders were freshman Madison McCreary (Batesville, Ind./Batesville), won posted an 88 on Wednesday, and sophomore Kiana Jongsma (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central), who finished the day with a 91.
Valparaiso will conclude action from Jacksonville, Fla. tomorrow with the final 18 holes of the tournament.