NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's golf team returns to the links Monday when it takes part in Missouri State's MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial, Sept. 12-13, at the par-71, 5,961-yard Twin Oaks Country Club in Springfield, Missouri.
The tournament features a 54-hole stroke-play format, with 36 holes being played Monday and 18 holes Tuesday. An 8:30 a.m. shotgun start will start play both days.
Fifteen teams will be competing in the event. Joining the Redbirds and Bears in the field are Oral Roberts, Omaha, South Dakota State, Louisiana Monroe, Creighton, South Dakota, Western Illinois, UTEP, Oklahoma City, Williams Woods, Little Rock, Arkansas State and Drury.
Teams are constructed with five student-athletes, and only the top-four scores count towards the school's overall total in each round.
The Redbirds will be represented by junior Abby Luchtenburg, sophomore Caitlin Sims, junior Kiley Walsh, freshman Paige Seiser and senior Maggie Ambrose. Senior Renee Solberg will be competing as an individual.
"This is a big week for us to continue the momentum we started building at home during the Redbird Invitational," head coach Darby Sligh said. "It's a solid regional field that we would like to do well against. To do that, we will need to focus on the details and prepare well during the practice round since we haven't played this course before. I'm looking to see continued use of our depth this week and excited to see who steps up."
Last Time Out
The Redbirds concluded its season-opening tournament Labor Day with a fifth-place finish (out of 14) at its own Redbird Invitational at the par-72 Weibring Golf Club. ISU shot a 304 in the final round to finish with a three-round total of 911 (302-305-304).
A pair of Redbirds finished in the top 20 of the individual leaderboard. Luchtenburg shot a 5-over-par 77 in the final round to finish with an 8-over-par 224 (72-75-77), which was good enough for a 12th-place tie. Sims also shot a 5-over-par 77 over the final 18 holes and wound up in a tie for 19th place with a 12-over-par 228 (76-75-77).
After carding a pair of 6-over-par 78s in the first two rounds, Walsh bounced back with a team-best 1-over-par 73 to finish with a 229 (78-78-73). Rounding out the team scoring in the final round for ISU was Solberg, who rebounded in a big way with a 5-over-par 77, and finished with a 244 (82-85-77).
Seiser concluded her first collegiate tournament with a 231 (76-77-78), after shooting a 6-over-par 78 in the final round.
Ambrose led the trio of individuals who competed for the Redbirds with a 6-over-par 78 in the final round to finish at 234 (77-79-78). Freshman Morgan Savage shot an 82 and ended with a 243 (79-81-83), while sophomore Leia Atas shot an 81 to finish at 246 (84-81-81).
Up Next
The Redbirds do not return to action until the beginning of October when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Preview, which will be hosted by Southern Illinois, Oct. 3-4, at Dalhousie Country Club.
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