Cutler Finishes Second, Team Second at Crusader Collegiate
The Valparaiso University men’s golf team concluded hosting of the inaugural Crusader Collegiate at Sand Creek C.C. in Chesterton on Tuesday. The Crusaders finished second as a team, finishing behind only the champions from Bradley, while junior Zach Cutler (O’Fallon, Mo./Timberland) led the way individually with a second-place finish.
How It Happened
- Valpo posted a third-round score of 297 on Wednesday to finish the 54-hole event at 894. Bradley pulled away to earn the team title with a final-round 285 for a total of 864.
- Cutler backed up his recent strong play with another stellar round. The junior shot a 2-under 70 on Wednesday to finish with a 54-hole score of 215 (-1), just one shot back of the individual champion.
- Cutler was one of three Crusaders to finish inside the top-10. Senior Peter Webb (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) shot a final-round 73 to finish at 227, while sophomore Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) also posted a three-round total of 227 as the duo tied for eighth place.
Inside the Tournament
- Bradley’s Ethan Brue earned the individual title by one stroke, finishing the three rounds at two-under 214.
- Valpo topped both other Horizon League programs in the tournament field. Wright State finished in third place, nine strokes back of the Crusaders, while Detroit finished 17 strokes behind the Raiders.
- In relation to par, Cutler’s 54-hole score of one under par was tied for the tenth-best three-round tournament score in program history.
- Freshman Ross Lazar (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) shot the best round of his young career, carding a 74 on Wednesday to finish in 14th position.
Next Up
The Crusaders continue their busy early-season schedule next week as they travel to Pawley’s Island, S.C. for the Golfweek Program Challenge. The three-day tournament kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 11.
Women’s Basketball Releases 2016-17 Schedule
The Valparaiso University women’s basketball team announced its schedule for the 2016-17 season on Wednesday, a slate highlighted by 16 home games at the ARC and trips to Notre Dame and Indiana.
The Crusaders will give fans their first glimpse of this year’s squad in exhibition play on Thursday, Nov. 3 as they face Indianapolis. Valpo then opens the regular season with three games away from home, taking on Stetson (Nov. 12), Chicago State (Nov. 16) and Illinois State (Nov. 19).
The Crusaders’ regular season home opener comes on Nov. 21, as they host IU Kokomo in the first of four consecutive games at the ARC. Valpo welcomes Liberty (Nov. 25), Evansville (Nov. 30) and Eastern Illinois (Dec. 3) during the homestand.
A trip to national power Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 4 is followed by a visit to Indiana the next Sunday, Dec. 11, with a home game against Grace (Dec. 10) in between. The non-league schedule wraps up Dec. 19 as the Crusaders host Bradley.
The Horizon League schedule kicks off Thursday, Dec. 29 at Detroit, while the league home opener comes one week later on Jan. 5 against defending Horizon League champion Green Bay. Valpo will face each league team twice in the double round-robin slate, with its final home game wrapping up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25 versus UIC. For the first time since Valpo joined the Horizon League, the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship will be held in conjunction with the Men’s Basketball Championship, at Joe Louis Arena on Mar. 3-7.
Twedt Promoted to Head Athletic Trainer, Creighton Joins Staff
Valparaiso University director of athletics Mark LaBarbera announced today that Nathan Twedt has been promoted to the position of head athletic trainer. In addition, Zachary Creighton has joined the athletic training staff as an assistant athletic trainer.
Twedt is in his 13th year working at Valparaiso, as he began his tenure on the athletic training staff prior to the 2004-05 school year. He currently works directly with the Crusader football and swimming programs.
An active member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the College Athletic Trainers’ Society, Twedt came to Valpo after working for three years at the Great River Health Systems Center for Rehabilitation in Burlington, Iowa. He also has experience at Florida A&M, Wake Forest, and South Dakota State. Twedt received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in exercise science in 1996 and his master’s degree in sports administration from South Dakota State in 1999.
Creighton joins the Crusader athletic training staff, working with the men’s basketball program, after spending the last three years as the head athletic trainer for the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. He also brings experience working with football, as well as swimming and diving, as a graduate assistant at Michigan State and with men’s basketball as an athletic training student at Purdue.
Creighton received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in athletic training in 2011 and went on to earn his master’s degree in education with a concentration in athletic training from Michigan State University in 2013.
