Depth sparks late-season surge for Crown Point

Updated: June 1, 2011 11:11PM

The thank-you note is in the mail from LaPorte to Crown Point.

Reads like this: “Couldn’t have done it without your help. Signed, the Slicers.”

Maybe even throw in a dinner or lunch for Nick Grubnich and Pat Mudd, the heavy lifters for the Bulldogs in their surprising late-season run.

What Crown Point did was to basically snatch the Duneland Athletic Conference title out of the hands of Valparaiso with an inspiring and definitely unexpected upset of the Vikings last Tuesday in a triangular at Michigan City Municipal. The preceding day, the Bulldogs had pulled off the upset of the year when they won the DAC title by two strokes over Valparaiso.

Still, with a second-place finish at the DAC and just one loss, the Vikings looked like a near lock to win conference, especially after LaPorte finished in fourth place at the DAC in a disappointing showing.

Didn’t happen, as Crown Point shot a 6-over-146, beating the Vikings by 13 strokes. Grubnich was 3-under for the meet.

They followed that score with a 307 at the Hanover Central Invitational on Friday.

In his last three meets, Grubnich collectively is 5-under-par.

It’s not so much Grubnich alone that has elevated the Bulldogs to the hottest team in the region going into sectionals, but their new-found depth.

Pat Mudd shot a 77 at the Brassie on Monday on an extremely hard scoring day and then shot an even-par 72 at South Shore Golf Course on Friday. Mudd only recently joined the varsity lineup full time after alternating between junior varsity and varsity during the season.

Crown Point coach Del Kutemeier is as confounded — in a good way — as ever about his depth. The lineup, outside of the team, won’t be revealed until the Bulldogs tee it up Friday at Lakes of the Four Seasons in the Boone Grove Sectional.

“Everybody has been playing well,” he said. “I’ve just got to figure it out.”

To illustrate his point, Crown Point played three teams at the Hanover Central Invitational. His second and third team shot 320 and 324 — and one of the players on the third team finished with a 73.

Kutemeier said he’ll consider the course and how it suits the golfer and the hot players when he turns in his lineup card.

That gives the Bulldogs plenty of options for a team that Kutemeier calls his best in 12 seasons.

“I’m going to evaluate them and then we’ll make some decisions,” he said.

One person who is going to be in the lineup for sure is Grubnich.

Grubnich’s regular-season performance was his best ever— which is a fitting way to cap off a stellar career.

A couple weeks ago, he shot a career-low 4-under on the Lake Course at Sand Creek.

Grubnich has scaled back his use of the driver. That has helped with the better scoring.

“He has played a lot more conservatively,” Kutemeier said. “He doesn’t have those blow-up holes anymore.”

He has also taken an active leadership role on the team, helping some of the younger players with swing issues and the mental aspect of the game.

“I think a lot of the pressure has come off him because his teammates are scoring well now,” Kutemeier said.bo

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