This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week include Missouri State's Rachel Johnson and Illinois State's Joel Durnford.

MEN'S RECAPS
Behind a tournament-best three-under par 210 in the three rounds for junior Joel Durnford, the Illinois State Redbirds tied for second place overall in the 12-team Dayton Flyer Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.  Durnford's medalist honors was the program's first since Trent Wallace earned the top individual finish at the 2017 Little Rock Invitational on October 23 and 24 last year. For the Redbirds, it was their third top-two finish of the season in four total events, including a team victory at the Badger Invitational to start the 2018-19 season.  Durnford, who opened play on the ninth hole, started his third round in a big way with a birdie and then an eagle on the par-five 10th. The 2018 NJCAA Individual National Champion then followed with 11 pars over the next 13 holes, with the only outliers coming by bogies on the 12th and 15th holes. He closed his round with a birdie on the sixth, bogey on the seventh, and par on the eighth to secure the individual medalist honor. Durnford did his heavy lifting for the tournament on the par-5's, as he was six shots under par on the longer holes, which tied for the lowest score in the field.   Bradley was also in the field.  The Braves finished sixth and were led by Drake Bushong's 17th-place showing (76-71-71=218).

Loyola senior Orion Yamat turned in the top 54-hole performance of his career as the Ramblers and Valparaiso Crusaders closed their fall slate at the Titans Motown Collegiate in Highland, Mich. earlier in the week.  Out of Niles, Ill., Yamat opened the event with a scintillating six-under-par 66, the fourth-lowest, single-round in program history, en route to a runner-up finish with a four-under-par 212 (66-75-71).  Bolstered by Yamat's efforts, Loyola finished second in the team race, closing the event at 889 (299-304-286).  Valparaiso's Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna) had the best 18-hole score of any Valpo player in Tuesday’s Round 3, finishing in a tie for sixth overall in a 60-player field.

The Drake University men's golf team defeated Creighton in a rare dual match, 301-310, Monday, Oct. 15, afternoon at Des Moines' Wakonda Club.  Chase Wicklund (Scottsdale, Ariz.) earned medalist honors by leading the Bulldogs with the day's lowest round of 73. 

Dallas Koth was the top performer for the University of Evansville men's golf team as the Purple Aces wrapped up the fall season at the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate in Dickson, Tenn.  Koth completed his two rounds of play with an even 144.  After posting a 73 in round one, Koth lowered that to a 1-under 71 to tie for 17th place.  Second for UE was Noah Reese.  His scores of 75 and 76 put him at 7-over par with a 151.  He tied for 44th.  Belmont took the team championship, finishing at 9-under par as a team with a 567.  SIU Edwardsville was two behind with a 569.  The Cougars' Kyle Slattery was the medalist.  His 8-under 136 was two ahead of the competition.  Evansville came in 10th place with a 600, they were two behind 9th place Eastern Illinois. 

Upcoming MVC men's golf schedule:
 

Date	Event	Site	MVC Teams
O21-23	ODU/Outer Banks Intercollegiate	Powells Point, NC	DU
O22-23	Little Rock Intercollegiate	Little Rock, Ark.	ILS, MSU
N2-4	Ka'Anapali Collegiate Classic	Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii	SIU

WOMEN'S RECAP
Chesterton, IN --- The Missouri State Bears were paced by Rachel Johnson in round three as the senior overtook teammate Abby Cavaiani for possession of first place. Johnson shot 79-75-77--231 to win the Fall Preview after taking home the MVC individual title this past spring. One shot back and tied for second, Cavaiani carded 76-76-80--232.

MVC Fall Preview Results (PDF)

Elayna Bowser of Loyola also carded a 232 to tie for second.   The Dearborn, Mich. native used a final-round 75, the top round of the day by any player at the event, to surge to a runner-up finish with a 232 (81-76-75).  Bowser led the Ramblers in each of the team's five events this fall, notching a pair of victories to go along with two second-place finishes.  

Missouri State (969) extended its lead in the third round by four strokes with Bradley remaining in second place with 971. Illinois State was third with 985 followed by Southern Illinois (987), Drake (997) and Indiana State(997) tied for fifth, Loyola (1000) was seventh, Northern Iowa (1005) and Valparaiso (1055) rounded out the nine-team field.

Upcoming MVC women's golf schedule:
 

Date	Event	Site	MVC Teams
O22-23	Charles Braun Intercollegiate	Evansville, Ind.	UE, ILS, INS, SIU, VU
O28-30	Little Rock Classic	Hot Springs, Ark.	MSU, UNI