St. Edward grad Winters off to hot start at Valpo
Former St. Edward boys' golf standout Eric Winters got his 2014-2015 season started on the right foot.
Winters, now a senior on the Valparaiso men's golf team, was a key contributor in the team's second-place finish at the Whistling Straits Intercollegiate in Sheboygan, Wis.
Valparaiso turned in a final-round 293 to finish with a combined 894 stroke total. Youngstown State won the event with an 886.
Winters finished in a tie for third place in the tournament. He shot a final-round 73 to finish at 219.
"Eric was a rock for us all three rounds," said Valparaiso coach David Gring, who had three players finish in the Top 10 individually. "We will bring a lot of confidence with us to our remaining fall tournaments coming out of this one."
In other recent action, Winters finished in the Top 25 at the Golfweek Program Challenge. He shot a final-round 71 and finished the tournament with a 2-under-par 214. Winters helped Valparaiso set a new program record for lowest 54-hole tournament team score with an 842 (18 shots better than the previous record).
Northern Illinois University women's golf: A trio of former girls' golf standouts helped the Northern Illinois University women's golf team to an impressive showing at the recent Redbird Invitational at Weibring Golf Club in Normal.
NIU shot a final-round 318 to finish tied for second with Butler. The 922 final score marked the second-lowest 54-hole tournament output in NIU program history.
Hampshire graduate Connie Ellett tied for sixth with teammate Lena Gautier in the tournament. Ellett shot a 227 for 54 holes, which is a career low for her and also puts her tied for eighth all-time in program history for lowest 54-hole tournament score.
Ellett was the only Huskie to turn in three sub-80 rounds in the tournament. She shot 78, 73 and 76.
Bartlett graduate Samantha Coyne, now a junior at NIU, took 24th in the tournament with a three-round total of 232. She shot 75, 80 and 77.
Taylor Ellett, a senior, placed 79th with a score of 249, which included rounds of 83, 79 and 87.
NIU plays this week in the Louisville Cardinal Cup in Louisville.
Rosch at Illinois State: Cary-Grove graduate Ashley Rosch is a junior outside hitter on the Illinois State University women's volleyball team.
Through midweek, Rosch had played in 34 sets and had a team-best 116 kills (3.41 kills per set). She also had 85 digs (2.50 digs per set) and 8 service aces.
In a recent Illinois State victory over Illinois-Chicago, Rosch registered 10 kills. ISU was 4-4 overall through midweek.
Whitewater football: A pair of locals played roles in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's convincing 73-7 season-opening nonconference victory over Waldorf (Iowa).
Elgin High graduate Dennis Moore, now a junior running back on the team, ran the ball 8 times for a team-high 69 yards. That included a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. That score gave Whitewater a 28-0 lead.
South Elgin alum Jake Kumerow, now a senior wide receiver, caught 1 pass for 19 yards. Kumerow and Moore helped Whitewater rack up 450 yards of total offense.
Whitewater returns to action Saturday at Franklin College.
Kliem at SIU Edwardsville: Former Burlington Central running standout Clint Kliem helped the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville men's cross-country team to a recent first-place finish at the EIU Walt Crawford Open.
Kliem, a junior, finished sixth in the 8K event with a time of 26:34.80.
Wronski at Upper Iowa: Huntley alum Aimee Wronski is a senior midfielder-forward on the Upper Iowa women's soccer team.
Wronski had 3 shots and 2 shots on goal in the team's season-opening 1-0 loss to Rockhurst. She had a goal and 2 assists during the team's preseason matches.
Wronski thrived in her first year at Upper Iowa last season, earning NSIC newcomer of the year honors. She also was an all-NSIC first-team selection and an all-region first-team selection after leading the Peacocks in goals with 15 and points with 36.
She was tops in the conference in game-winning goals (8) and finished third in goals and points scored.
Upper Iowa also features Wronski's sister, Corinne, who is a redshirt senior, and Crystal Lake South product Makenzie Taldone, who is a sophomore midfielder-forward.
Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley-area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.