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Vikings right the ship
Updated: June 3, 2011 9:07PM
VALPARAISO — The Valparaiso golf freight train had hit some rough patches the last 11 days.
Not terrible, awful, rough patches. Just the kind of uneven play that can create uncertainty going into the most critical stretch of the year. It’s also the sort of rocky golf that is bound to crop up over the course of a season.
The Vikings rounded back into top form in Friday’s Valparaiso Sectional, shooting a 301 at Forest Park Golf Course. Portage finished second with 319. Rensselaer, with a 321, was the third team to qualify for the LaPorte Regional at Beechwood Golf Course next week. It was the first time since 1997 that the Bombers have qualified as a team for regionals.
For Logan Bertalan, the Vikings’ No. 3 golfer, the solid day was a needed tonic for the last couple of matches. The Vikings let the Duneland Athletic Conference title slip away when Crown Point defeated them twice in two days — once at the DAC Championship and the next day at a triangular meet with the Bulldogs and Michigan City. Bertalan said the last couple of weeks were rough because they had to play five matches in five days before the rain came last week. A few days off helped them refocus.
“It is positive to be playing well going into next week,” said Bertalan, who fired a 71 on Friday.
Valparaiso advanced on the strength of its big three — Kyle Meihofer also shot 71 and Bobby Jacobs, their No. 1 golfer, finished with a 75.
“Both Logan and Kyle played well today,” Litchtenberger said. “They were solid.”
Bertalan has played well lately for the Vikings, shooting a 37 in their final nine-hole DAC match at Michigan City Muncipal.
He was steady all day, finishing with four birdies and five bogeys.
He had one decent break. On No. 12, a short par-4 that doglegs right over a creek, Bertalan pulled his approach into the woods. The ball hit a tree and bounced left. He still had to punch back into the fairway but he was able to make bogey.
The day was a happy one for Rensselaer. The Bombers came into sectionals 13-1 in dual matches that were nine holes. Their 18-hole performance wasn’t nearly as good; their lowest 18-hole score was a 330.
Why they couldn’t put it together better for the extra nine holes was a mystery to Jeff Phillips, their coach.
He was just happy they finally did. Phillips had 315 on his radar for the Bombers. They came close enough.
“It was nice to see them finally put it together,” he said.
The big bomber for Rensselaer was Bo Culp, a solid No. 1 player for them. Culp shot a 75.
It was a scrambling 75. He started out with a bogey and a double-bogey. He got it going again with a couple of birdies before he started the back nine bogey-bogey-double-bogey. He held on tight at the finish for a solid score.
“I thought it was going to be a long day,” he said.
Tim Talley shot a 75 and Jack Lewis pitched in with a 78 to lead Portage to its second-place finish.
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