Chesterton continues streak of DAC Tournament wins

CHESTERTON | It has been a while since the Chesterton girls' golf team lost the DAC Tournament at The Brassie -- long enough that coach Dale Hewitt doesn't remember exactly the last time the team lost the tournament.

Thanks to another medalist performance from the Trojans No. 1 golfer Kelly Grassel, the win streak continued Monday at The Brassie as the Trojans topped runner-up Valparaiso by nine strokes, 323-332.

"We have a solid team top to bottom," Hewitt said. "My top four are pretty well set. I've got a good, solid, excellent four."

Hewitt continues to rotate the fifth position, but pointed out he has confidence in all eight of his golfers.

Grassel fired three birdies on the day to card a 71 to beat out a longtime opponent from Valpo, Harley Dubsky, by one stroke.

"This is pretty much usual for her," Hewitt said of Grassel.

Dubsky took medalist honors in the tournament last year, topping Grassel by five strokes. The two have each already posted sub-70 scores this season.

"I definitely have a lot of respect for Harley's game," Grassel said. "It makes me play better. I really like (playing with) someone who's really good. It makes me work harder."

Despite the rivalry between Chesterton and Valparaiso, Dubsky calls Grassel one of her close friends since they have grown up together, playing golf together for about eight years.

"We love each other," Dubsky said. "We're kind of like sisters."

Matching up once again in the same pairing, the 12th hole represented the turning point of the course for the pair. Grassel entered trailing Dubsky by one stroke. Grassel made par, while Dubsky slipped up with a double bogey to give Grassel a one-stroke lead. Grassel never looked back.

The next closest competitors to the pair's scores were Grassel's teammates Marissa Kroeger and Stephanie Drake, and LaPorte's Ariana Mendez-Sota who all shot an 81.

Last Monday, Chesterton beat Valparaiso by 34 strokes at the Kankakee Valley Invitational at Sandy Pines. For Valpo coach Bill Miller, Monday's performance represented a significant step in the right direction for his team.

"To be within nine shots of Chesterton, we're ecstatic with that," Miller said. "For us to give them a run today, I'm extremely happy with that."

Miller has even more optimism given that three of the team's five golfers are freshmen. He said they may have been nervous to start the day, but settled in just fine. The team's 332 represented its second best score of the season.

"We're young, we may have some nerves, but our girls backed it up today," Miller said.