Valparaiso University Sports Update, September 19, 2016

By: Valparaiso University Last Updated: September 19, 2016

VU-Crusaders-Claim-Win-on-Senior-DayCrusaders Claim Win on Senior Day
The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team closed out its non-league schedule on Sunday in victorious fashion, getting a golden goal from sophomore Cory Griffith (Lemont, Ill./Providence Catholic) in the 105th minute to defeat Morehead State at Brown Field, 2-1. The win came on Senior Day for the Crusaders, as seven members of the senior class were honored prior to the game, and with the victory, head coach John Marovich moved into a tie atop the Crusader record books as the winningest coach in program history.

How It Happened

  • Senior April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) got the Crusaders on the board late in the first half in the 38th minute. Cronin carried the ball herself over 35 yards, running at the Morehead State defense through the attacking third, and got to the corner of the six-yard box, where she kept an effort low to the ground inside the far post for her sixth goal of the season.
  • Shelby Huddleston equalized for the Eagles in the 74th minute, running down the left side onto a pass from Angela Black and knocking it home just underneath the crossbar to make it 1-1. Despite a number of quality scoring chances both ways in the second half, that proved to be the period’s only goal, as the Crusaders and Eagles went to extra time.
  • Nearing the halfway point of the second period of extra time, the Crusaders found the golden goal. Again, the attack was spearheaded by Cronin, who ran at the defense down the left-hand side. Cronin sent a cross into the center of the box, where it eluded a Morehead State defender and found Griffith’s foot. The sophomore calmly tucked it away to give Valpo the win.

Inside the Game

  • Prior to the game, the seven members of this year’s senior class – Cronin, Vanesa Abad ( Barrington, Ill./ Lake Zurich [Ohio State]), Kelsie Bolerjack (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), Krista Carlson (Cherry Valley, Ill./Rockford Lutheran), Danielle DeSciscio (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton), Michelle Mottonen (South Barrington, Ill./Fremd [TCU]) and Robin Wenzel (Woodstock, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) – were honored during Senior Day ceremonies.
  • All seven members of this senior class were in the starting lineup on Sunday. For Bolerjack, Carlson and DeSciscio, Sunday’s starting assignment was the first of their respective careers.
  • Marovich earned his 78th win at the helm of the Crusader women’s soccer program, moving him into a tie with his predecessor, Stephen Anthony, for most wins by a head coach in program history. Marovich (78-57-27) reached the mark in 30 fewer matches than Anthony.
  • Cronin’s goal to open the scoring moved her into second place by herself in program history in career points. Adding in the assist on the match-winner, Cronin now has tallied 54 career points on 23 goals and eight assists.
  • Griffith found the back of the net for the third time this season and recorded her second match-winner of the year.
  • Freshman Tess Barrett (Tinley Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) earned the win in goal for the Crusaders, making five saves while limiting Morehead State to one goal.
  • The Crusaders finished the match with a 22-12 advantage in shots over the Eagles and put 10 shots on goal to Morehead State’s six. Valpo also earned six of the match’s eight corner kicks.

Next Up
The Crusaders (5-5-0) return to Horizon League play for the duration of the regular season, starting Saturday night when they host Detroit at Brown Field. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the game can be seen live on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Links for the live video and live stats will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Crusader Quartet Closes Action at Duke
Three out of the four Valparaiso University men’s tennis players in action at Duke’s James Bonk Invite in Cary, N.C. closed out the weekend with singles victories on Sunday.

How It Happened

  • Senior Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) won the third-place match in the Black singles bracket, taking down Sean Burnette of North Carolina State in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
  • Sophomore Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) claimed fifth place in the White singles bracket with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Auburn’s Conner Huertas del Pino.
  • Senior Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) closed out tournament action with a singles win of his own in the Blue bracket, coming from behind for a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Philip Moebius of VCU.
  • Senior Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) was the only Crusaders to suffer a loss on Sunday, dropping a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 decision to Michael Ogden of N.C. State.

Inside the Matches

  • The quartet of Crusaders combined to post a 10-6 record in singles action at Duke, with Kissell and Emhardt leading the way with three wins apiece.
  • Schorsch extended his school-record career wins total to 86, while Emhardt moved into solo second place on the same chart with 72 wins. Bacalla now owns 65 career singles wins as well.

Next Up
The Crusaders will step away from competition next weekend before returning to action the following weekend. The ITA All-American Championships begin Saturday, Oct. 1 in Tulsa, Okla., while team members who don’t travel to Tulsa will compete at Toledo’s Rocket Invitational, starting Friday, Sept. 30.

Seewald Named PFL Offensive Player of the Week
Valparaiso University freshman quarterback Jimmy Seewald (Livonia, Mich./Divine Child) has been selected as the Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week today following his record-tying performance in the Crusaders’ win over Trinity International on Saturday.

Seewald began his first career start – the first start by a true freshman quarterback at Valpo since 2010 – with a 61-yard touchdown pass, and capped his day in the fourth quarter with a 14-yard toss for a score. All told, Seewald finished the day 22-of-29 through the air for 345 yards and five touchdowns, tying the Crusader program record for TD passes in a single game.

Seewald, Valpo’s third Player of the Week honoree from the PFL office in the season’s first three weeks, became the first PFL quarterback to throw for five scores in a single game this season. The freshman, who is one of just FCS quarterbacks with five TD passes in a game this year, currently ranks 11th in the FCS with seven TD passes this season and 20th in passing efficiency.

Men’s Tennis Posts Strong Results On Saturday
The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team saw four players at Duke’s James Bonk Invite in Cary, N.C. combine for six singles wins out of eight matches on Saturday, while at home in the Valpo Fall Invitational, the Crusaders claimed one doubles and two singles titles.

How It Happened – Duke

  • Seniors Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) will meet in the consolation final of the Black singles bracket after each won a pair of matches Saturday. Bacalla earned straight-set wins over Florida’s Stephen Madonia (6-4, 6-0) and Radford’s Samuel Taylor (6-4, 6-4), while Emhardt earned a 6-3, 6-1 win over Duke’s Andrew DeJoy and then battled to a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory versus Elon’s Chris Humphreys.
  • Sophomore Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) earned a spot in the fifth-place match in the White singles bracket. After a tough three-set loss in his Saturday opener, Kissell bounced back with a 6-4, 7-6(6) win over Charlotte’s Sam Rice.
  • Senior Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) recorded a win in the back draw of the Blue singles bracket.
  • Emhardt and Schorsch teamed up for an 8-4 victory over a duo from Charlotte to claim third place in the White doubles bracket.

How It Happened – Valpo

  • The Crusaders had a pair of players face off in the finals of both the A and the B singles brackets on Saturday.
  • Freshman Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Christian) advanced to the A singles final with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 win over WashU’s Johnny Wu, while senior Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 victory over Iowa’s Jason Kerst. Dunn claimed the A singles bracket title with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 victory against Ancona.
  • Junior Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio/Poland) downed freshman Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla./Ponca City) in the B singles final, 6-1, 6-1. Gardner advanced to the title match by virtue of a 7-5, 6-3 victory against WashU’s Jason Haugen, while Langston took down WashU’s Bernardo Neves in his semifinal, 6-0, 3-6, 10-4.
  • Freshman Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern) advanced to the C singles championship with a 7-6(3), 7-6(6) win against Radha Vishnu of WashU before falling in the title match.
  • Before facing off in the A singles championship, Dunn and Ancona combined to take down an Iowa duo, 6-2, to earn the A doubles title. Gardner and Langston won the consolation final in the same bracket with a 6-3 victory over a WashU doubles team.
  • Pecyna and Brozovich closed out play in B doubles with a 6-2 win over a duo from Purdue in the bracket’s third-place match.

Next Up
The quartet of Crusaders competing at Duke will close out the James Bonk Invite on Sunday as singles action wraps up.

Seewald Matches Program Record; Valpo Downs Trinity International
Freshman quarterback Jimmy Seewald (Livonia, Mich. / Divine Child) made his first career start a memorable one, matching a program record with five touchdown passes in the Valparaiso University football team’s 49-24 victory over Trinity International on Saturday at Brown Field. The Crusaders racked up 527 yards of total offense in the win over the Trojans.

How It Happened

  • The home opener started in favorable fashion for the Crusaders as Idode Kerobo (Southfield, Mich. / Eisenhower) intercepted a J.J. Burmeister pass on Trinity International’s first play from scrimmage.
  • Then, on Valpo’s first offensive play of the game, Seewald hit Jean Rene (Delray Beach, Fla. / Wellington Community) for a 61-yard TD.
  • Freshman Cody Boxrucker (West Chester, Ohio / Badin) scampered into the end zone from four yards out for his first career TD with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
  • After Jarell Carter hit a 37-yard field goal to get the Trojans on the board, the Crusaders boosted the lead to 21-3 on a 17-yard pass completion from Seewald to junior Frank Catrine (Springboro, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick), who made his season debut.
  • Trinity International made it 21-17 by scoring twice in the final 1:28 of the second quarter.
  • Rene made his second TD catch of the game with 13:10 left in the third on a 19-yard pass from Seewald.
  • Burmeister completed a 33-yard TD pass to Brad Hargis with 6:34 left in the third to cut Valpo’s lead to 28-24.
  • But it was all Crusaders for the game’s duration, with Valpo scoring the final 21 points. Jarrett Morgan (Cooper City, Fla. / Cooper City) turned in a 52-yard TD run followed by a 20-yard TD catch. Then Seewald capped the scoring with a 14-yard toss to Mason Sutter (Woodstock, Ill. / Woodstock).

Inside the Game

  • Seewald became the sixth Valpo player to throw five touchdown passes in a game. Dave Macchi accomplished the feat three times in 2003. Before Seewald, Ryan Clarke was the most recent Crusader to match the record, doing so last season at Davidson.
  • Seewald was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Valpo since Eric Lemon in 2010.
  • Kicker Jake Simpson (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt) went 7-for-7 on extra points, tying the program record for successful PATs in a game. The mark had been reached five times previously, most recently by Jake Newman on Oct. 11, 2014 against Missouri Baptist.
  • Morgan led Valpo’s rushing attack with 106 yards on 14 carries. His 52-yard TD dash was the longest rushing play by the Crusaders this season and the longest of Morgan’s Valpo career.
  • Rene now has three TD grabs this season and eight in his Valpo career. He finished with four receptions for 90 yards, while Morgan and Sutter led the way with five catches each.
  • Sutter’s TD catch was his first of the season and the second of his career.
  • The 527 yards of total offense was the most Valpo has compiled in a single game since Sept. 27, 2014 at Campbell.
  • Valpo prevailed in a home opener for the first time since 2008, a 34-10 win over Concordia (Wis.).
  • The Crusaders went 9-for-13 on third down. It was the first time they’ve had nine or more third down conversions in a game since Nov. 22, 2014 against Davidson.
  • Joey Diaz-Martinez (Miramar, Fla. / Miramar) made his first interception of the year and the fourth of his Valpo career. He returned the interception 16 yards, the longest interception return of his collegiate career.
  • Diaz-Martinez and Kellan Hughes (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights) led Valpo with 10 tackles apiece.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Cecchini
“It’s hard to start a football game out any better than creating a turnover on the first play, and then having your freshman quarterback go out and throw a touchdown pass on your first offensive play of the game. Jimmy stepped up and made a nice throw, and Jean Rene made a great run to really jumpstart the team.”

Next Up
The Crusaders (1-2) will begin Pioneer Football League play next Saturday. It’s Homecoming at Brown Field as Valpo hosts Davidson. The game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app, and heard live on WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso). Links for the live video and audio, as well as live stats, will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Men’s Soccer Takes All Three Points at Belmont Saturday
The Valparaiso University men’s soccer team went on the road to Belmont Saturday to continue Horizon League play and came home from Nashville with three points, as the Crusaders scored a pair of second-half goals for a 2-1 victory over the Bruins.

How It Happened

  • The Crusaders put four shots on goal in the first half, out-shooting Belmont 6-4 over the opening 45 minutes, but the game went into halftime scoreless.
  • Valpo claimed the lead in the 59th minute, as senior Deven Mason (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado [Virginia Tech]) played a cross into the box which met fellow senior Nelson Landaverde (Santa Ana, El Salvador/Springdale (Ark.) H.S. [Neosho County C.C.]). Landaverde tucked it away from in front of goal to give the Crusaders the 1-0 edge.
  • But Belmont equalized within the minute, as Nat Hubert connected on a free kick from straight on, just outside the 18-yard box.
  • The Crusaders found the match-winning goal in the 66th minute. Junior Ramone Howell (Portmore, Jamaica/Jamaica College) took a ball which was deflected in the area and knocked it in to give Valpo the 2-1 lead. Senior Isaiah Madrid (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado [FGCU]) picked up the assist on the match-winner.
  • Valpo held the one-goal advantage through the end of 90 minutes, escaping trouble in the 83rd minute when the Bruins’ AJ Arnold hit the woodwork.

Inside the Game

  • Both Landaverde and Howell found the back of the net for the second time this season. Howell’s match-winner was the second-such goal of his career, both of which have come within Horizon League play.
  • Mason’s assist on the Crusaders’ first goal was his first point in a Valpo uniform.
  • Madrid recorded his second assist of the season and fourth of his career. Through just 23 career games, the senior has tallied 22 points.
  • Valpo ended the match with a slight 13-11 advantage in shots, including a 7-4 edge in efforts on frame. Senior Nico Campbell (Kingston, Jamaica/St. George’s College) earned the win in goal, making three saves.

Thoughts From Head Coach Mike Avery
“We felt like we let a few points slip away at home last weekend and we were very determined to take a few road points back today. I was pleased with the performance overall, even if there are a few lessons we still haven't fully grasped. The team is growing, though, and sticking together in a tough road environment is an important part of that process.”

“We now get a bit of a fun change of pace with a game in the midweek at Ohio State before next weekend's big Horizon League game at Cleveland State. It's always an exciting challenge to visit a Big 10 campus, and I know we are all looking forward to our trip to Columbus.”

Next Up
The Crusaders (2-1-2, 1-0-1 Horizon) step out of league play as they continue their stretch of road fixtures with a Wednesday evening match at Ohio State. The game will be available live online on BTN Plus, while live stats will also be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Cross Country Continues 2016 Campaign Saturday
The Valparaiso University men’s cross country team split into two groups this weekend, as some Crusaders stayed closer to home at the Gil Dodds Invitational in Warrenville, Ill., while most of the squad traveled to San Diego, Calif. for the USD Invite. The Crusaders finished fifth as a team in San Diego, while the men finished 12th at the Gil Dodds Invite. The women’s team traveled along to California for the USD Invite as well, garnering a sixth-place finish.

How It Happened

  • Leading the way for the Crusader men to their fifth-place finish at San Diego was sophomore Alexander Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./University), crossing the finish line 19th overall out of 66 runners at the event with a time of 26:26 over the 8K course.
  • Senior Dan Walters (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and freshman Victor Fortin (East Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) followed up Bruno with times of 26:42 and 26:44, good for 26th and 27th place, respectively.
  • For the women’s squad, junior Kim Heiny (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) earned a top-20 finish, crossing the line in 23:33.
  • Two-time All-Horizon League honoree Liz Owen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) finished 27th as she covered the circuit with a time of 24:01, while senior Tori Tamburrino (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) posted a time of 24:32, good for 32nd place.
  • Freshman Will Michener (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) paved the way for the Valpo men at the Gil Dodds Invitational, earning the team’s highest spot at the meet.

Next Up
Both teams take a short break from competition and race again on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Notre Dame Invitational. The meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m. CT.

Volleyball Drops Pair at Ball State
The Valparaiso University volleyball team opened play at its final pre-league tournament of the season Friday with a pair of matches at the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge. The Crusaders fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-18) to #19 Ohio State to open the tournament and then dropped a four-set decision (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 25-17) to the host Cardinals Friday night.

How It Happened

  • Reigning First Team All-American Taylor Sandbothe led Ohio State as the Crusaders fell in three sets to the nationally-ranked Buckeyes, finishing with 14 kills on .458 hitting. The latest Valpo led in any of the three sets came in the opener, as a three-point spurt gave the Crusaders a 12-11 advantage, but OSU scored eight of the next nine points to take control.
  • In the nightcap against the Cardinals, Valpo looked in control of the first set, leading 20-15, before BSU ended the set on a 10-3 run to claim the opener. The Cardinals then hit at a .406 clip in the second set as they pulled ahead 2-0.
  • The Crusaders led nearly start to finish in the third set, but Ball State threatened late, closing to within 19-17. Valpo would score four of the next five points, including three kills by junior Taylor Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Upper Sandusky), to give itself a cushion, and another kill from Graboski forced a fourth set.
  • Ball State responded by scoring the first six points of the fourth set, and the Crusaders were unable to get any closer than four points the rest of the way as the Cardinals closed out the win.

Inside the Matches

  • Sophomore Lizzie Zaleski (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist) registered a pair of double-doubles, finishing with 16 assists and 12 digs versus Ohio State and 25 assists to go along with 11 digs against Ball State.
  • Graboski matched her career high for kills with 15 kills in the nightcap against Ball State, reaching the mark for the third time.
  • Junior Allison Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) tallied a team-best 21 digs versus the Cardinals, breaking the 20-dig mark for the first time this season and the 13th time in her career.

Next Up
The Crusaders (6-7) look to close out action from Ball State on a winning note on Saturday as they face off with UNC Greensboro at 3 p.m. CT. Live stats will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Crusader Women Open Season at Greater Cincinnati Invitational
The Valparaiso University women’s tennis team opened up its season Friday at the Greater Cincinnati Invitational, hosted by Northern Kentucky and Dayton at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

How It Happened

  • Valpo junior Kathleen Hebble (Sellersburg, Ind./Silver Creek) represented the Crusaders in the #1 singles bracket. After falling in her first match, Hebble earned an 8-4 win over Evansville’s Andrea Pascual-Warrinaga in the first match of the consolation bracket to advance to the consolation semifinals.
  • The Crusaders earned two wins apiece in the #5 and #6 singles brackets. Making her first career start for the Crusaders, freshman Jordan Kopfer (Eagan, Minn./Eastview) won her opening match 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 over Andjela Brguljan of Evansville in #5 Singles. Sophomore Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) dropped her first match in the same bracket, but won in the consolation bracket - 6-4, 6-4 – over Akron’s Carla Flores.
  • Sophomore Halle Roach (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) opened #6 singles play with an opening-round win, picking up 6-2 and 6-1 set victories over Dayton’s Claire Herdina. Senior Morgan Paras (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) opened the same bracket with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Belmont’s Jenna Krakau.

Inside the Match

  • Kopfer was one of two Crusaders to being her Valpo career on Friday, as highly ranked three-star recruit Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) was placed in the #2 singles bracket to open her career. Sysouvanh won the first set of her opener before eventually falling in three sets.
  • All nine members of the Crusader roster are competing this weekend through seven singles draws and three doubles brackets.

Next Up
The Crusaders continue action from Mason, Ohio as team double pairs of Wind/Sysouvanh, Hebble/Paige Heuer and Paras/Roach hit the courts tomorrow for Valpo. Consolation and back-draw singles action continues as well on Saturday.

Cronin’s Goal Gives Crusaders Win in League Opener
Senior April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) scored her fifth goal of the season midway through the first half, and the Valparaiso University women’s soccer team made that goal stand up, blanking Cleveland State in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday evening, 1-0, to open Horizon League play.

How It Happened

  • Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Tess Barrett (Tinley Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) made a pair of saves in a one-minute span in the 13th and 14th minutes to keep the game scoreless – the only saves she would have to make on the night.
  • The Crusaders got the only goal they would need in the 22nd minute. Senior Michelle Mottonen (South Barrington, Ill./Fremd [TCU]) carried the ball on a lengthy run on the counter and fed Cronin at the top of the 18. Cronin looked to slip a pass into the center of the box, and a number of players converged on the ball – including the CSU keeper. The ball got knocked directly back to Cronin on the right side of the box, and the senior calmly drilled the ball into the upper portion of the goal to make it 1-0 Valpo.
  • Valpo controlled a good part of play following the goal the remainder of the match, out-shooting CSU 13-8 the rest of the way, including an 8-0 advantage in shots on goal.
  • The Crusaders dealt well with pressure from the Vikings in the late stages of the match as CSU pushed forward looking for the equalizer and got some help from the woodwork as well to keep the clean sheet, as Maren Melnick put a shot off the crossbar in the 88th minute.

Inside the Game

  • Barrett earned her second clean sheet in five starts in goal for the Crusaders.
  • Cronin moved into second place alone in program history in career goals with her 22nd career tally. With 51 career points, the senior is now just one point shy of Emily King and Kendall Brown for second place all-time in points as well.
  • Cronin has found the match-winner in three of the Crusaders’ four victories this year, already leaving her just one match-winning goal shy of the program single-season record. She now owns nine career match-winners, just one behind Lori Moore for tops on that career chart as well.
  • The win marks the fourth time since joining the Horizon League the Crusaders have won their league opener (4-5-1) – each of the previous three years (2011, 2012, 2014), Valpo finished in third place or better in the final league table.

Thoughts From Head Coach John Marovich
“Anytime you can go on the road in the Horizon League and come away with points, it’s a good thing. But to get all three points is impressive, and I’m very proud of the team’s effort tonight.”

“I was pleased with our back four, especially Ali Quillen and Sydney Gountounas, tonight in how they dealt with service and how they handled the Cleveland State attacking players. The block of four held their shape and made quality decisions in possession.”

“April’s goal was a product of a great individual performance and attacking mentality from Michelle. She exploded through the central midfielders, combined with several players to create a solid chance and April cleaned up the rebound.”

“This result was the product of a total team performance. Every player did what was asked of them to put our program in a position to get a result. It may have been as simple as holding onto a ball late or going into the midfield and being a ball-winner. Everyone was needed to get the result tonight.”

Next Up
The Crusaders (4-5-0, 1-0-0 Horizon) take on their final non-league opponent of the season at Brown Field on Sunday afternoon as they host Morehead State. It will be Senior Day for the program, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app, and will also feature an audio broadcast on WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso). Links for the live video, audio and stats will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Crusader Men Open Fall Season Friday
The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team split its squad on Friday to open the 2016 fall campaign. Four Crusaders opened action at the James Bonk Invitational, hosted by Duke in Cary, N.C. The remainder of the team stayed behind to compete in the Valpo Fall Invitational, which started on campus at the Valpo Tennis Complex and moved due to weather indoors to the Courts of NWI.

How It Happened – Duke

  • Both Crusader doubles teams earned wins over the duo of Joshua Wardell and Stephen Madonia from Florida. Seniors Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) teamed up for an 8-6 victory against the Gators before falling 8-5 to an Auburn duo which was playing its first match of the day.
  • Later in doubles action, senior Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and sophomore Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) defeated Wardell and Madonia, 8-2.
  • Kissell earned Valpo’s lone singles win of the day, advancing to the quarterfinals of the White singles bracket with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Radford’s Robin Calais.

How It Happened – Valpo

  • All six Crusaders competing in Valpo advanced to the semifinals of singles play. Senior Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) downed WashU’s John Carswell (6-4, 6-1) while freshman Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Christian) earned a 7-5, 6-2 win over Chicago State’s Christian Gonzalez in the ‘A’ singles bracket.
  • In ‘B’ singles, junior Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio/Poland) posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cage Kingsmith of Eastern Illinois. Freshman Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla./Ponca City) recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory against WashU’s Shaun Berman.
  • Redshirt freshman Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) earned a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over WashU’s Konrad Kozlowski in the ‘C’ singles bracket, while freshman Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern) downed Chicago State’s Gonzalo Martinez by a 6-3, 6-4 final.
  • Ancona and Dunn teamed up to advance to the finals of the ‘A’ doubles bracket, beating a pair of teams from WashU by scores of 6-3 and 6-4. Pecyna and Brozovich earned a doubles win as well in ‘B’ doubles, recording a 6-2 victory over an Eastern Illinois duo.

Inside the Matches

  • Emhardt and Schorsch extended their stranglehold on the top two spots on the Crusaders’ all-time doubles wins chart, winning their 87th and 83rd doubles matches, respectively.
  • Bacalla’s win in doubles action was the 55th of his career, tying him for fifth-most in program history.
  • Ancona, Brozovich, Langston and Pecyna all made their Crusader debuts on Friday.

Next Up
Action continues from both Duke and Valparaiso on Saturday. The Valpo Fall Invitational is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, while the James Bonk Invitational will go through Sunday.