Wheaton Warrenville South wins DVC

Wheaton Warrenville South came in with a 2-point lead and left with a 5-point win.

The Tigers' boys golf team won the DuPage Valley Conference title on Wednesday, entering play at St. Andrews Golf Course in West Chicago with a 2-point cushion built on an unbeaten regular season in the DVC.

The Tigers finished the tournament with 29 team points, Naperville North was second with 24, and Naperville Central placing third with 18 points.

"I'm absolutely excited and proud," said Tigers coach James Selleck. "We've been working hard for a long time for this day, and the boys played well all around the course today."

Steve Skurla led the way for the Tigers by posting a score of 74 on the first truly cold and windy day of the golf season.

"It was cold, but I had a consistent day," Skurla said. "I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, and my iron-striking was crisp today."

"They were tough conditions and the whole team played hard. My hat's off to them all for keeping their heads in it."

Jay Plepel shot a 77, brother Shawn shot a 78, and Adam Callaway shot 81 to help lead the Tigers to their first title in two years. Timothy Kelly gutted his way to an 84 with a severely pulled hamstring suffered recently in gym class.

"I give him so much credit," Steve Skurla said. "He was in pain out there."

Naperville Central's Stefan Grochowski also shot a 74, which led to a 2-hole playoff against Skurla for individual honors at this year's conference tournament.

After both golfers parred the 18th hole, they retreated to the 17th, which Grochowski parred to take individual honors.

"I couldn't be happier for Stefan," said Redhawks coach Barry Baldwin. "He's a class act, and he's worked hard to get to this point. That was just two very good golfers battling it out."

"It was a pressure that I really haven't been used to," Grochowski said of the playoff with Skurla, which he won with a 3-foot putt. "I was pretty confident with my putter all day today."

Naperville North was paced by Joe Hendrickson's 77 and Spencer Tanaka's 78 at St. Andrews.

"We've had a good year, so we're still happy, but I feel a little frustrated for the kids, because we were in a good position coming into this," said Huskies coach Ryan Hantak. "The kids worked hard all year, and as a coach you just feel for your kids."

Hendrickson shot three rounds under par this year in helping carry the Huskies. "Conditions were hard, but we did OK," Hendrickson said. "It was really windy out there today."

Baldwin would have liked to see his Redhawks play better on Wednesday, but he did get a 78 from Ryan Whittingham. "Ryan has been rock solid all year, and come up big in every match for us," Baldwin said.

Defending DVC champion West Aurora placed fourth, with defending individual DVC champ Kurtis Luedtke shooting a 75 to lead the Blackhawks. Luedtke was third overall on Wednesday, and he was happy with his game except for one hole.

"It was a good day until I tripled 17," Luedtke said. "I was putting amazing, hitting the fairways and greens today. Everything was solid until 17 - I sliced a drive out of bounds and it cost me."

Sam Wais finished fourth overall in shooting a 79 for fifth-place West Chicago, which saw several golfers shoot in the low-80s in Steve Romanelli, Blair Skarin and Ryan Crawford.

Matt Ward shot a 79 to place tenth individually for sixth-place Wheaton North, which also got an 81 from Jack Ahern. Nick Pavlik shot an 81 and Dan Butler shot a 79 for West Aurora, while Kevin Belford shot an 80 for Glenbard North, and Jake Waas led Glenbard East by posting an 82.