Dubsky paves the way as Valparaiso crushes the competition

ST. JOHN | Jennifer Gough couldn't refrain from gushing her excitement as she threw her arms up in the air and let out an abbreviated "Woo!"

The Valparaiso freshman had much to be excited about after the Vikings demolished the field at the Lake Central Invitational at Palmira Golf Club with a low score of 348, 44 strokes better than host Lake Central (392). Crown Point finished third with 400 strokes and Hanover Central was forth at 405. Munster rounded out the top five with 427.

Gough chopped off 14 strokes from her performance at Aberdeen the day before and shot an 82, second individually behind only her sophomore teammate Harley Dubsky, who shot a one-under 71.

"Yesterday I went out of bounds a lot, so today I just kind of kept it in the fairway, got on the green and my putting was a lot better," Gough said. "I was just more confident, especially since yesterday. I was shaking coming in the new high school tournaments."

Valpo head coach Bill Miller had plenty of confidence in the newcomer from the start, placing her No. 2 on the roster.

"Jennifer played great today," Miller said. "I'm very proud of her. There's a lot of pressure on her. As a freshman I put her at the two spot. But she's capable of shooting the score she shot today."

Gough believes the position will only improve her game.

"I like playing with better people," she said. "It helps me stay focused and I like knowing that I can catch up to them if I stay confident, trust my swing and trust my game. I'm not scared of being the No. 2. I'm not nervous about it. I think it's so cool!"

Despite taking the invite by a large margin, Dubsky spent no time reveling in the victory.

"It helps, but we definitely know that Chesterton is still out there, Penn is still out there, so there is always room to improve," Dubsky said. "It's nice knowing there are areas to improve."