Illinois State freshman Ashlie Rose lead the charge for the womens golf team shooting a two-round score of 148, tying her for the third-place spot and leading the Redbirds to a third-place standing after the first two rounds of play on Monday, October 14, at the Marilyn Smith Sunflower Invitational in Wichita, Kansas.
Rose, a Martinville, Illinois native, shot a team low 74 in the first round under cold and windy conditions at the Willowbend Golf Club. She returned in the afternoon and met her morning score, posting another 74, to lead the Birds in scoring
The Redbirds turned in a team score of 607 (303-304) to secure the third place spot after the first two rounds. ISU continues their dominance in the Missouri Valley conference as they are still undefeated in the Valley. The Birds posted lower scores than conference foes Wichita State (630), Northern Iowa (639), SMS (662), and Creighton (664) in Mondays opening rounds.
Roses teammates also contributed competitive scores to assist with their 3rd-place standing. Ashlee Johnson carded a two-round score of 150 (75-75) and is currently tied for fifth place after the first 36 holes of the tournament. Other finishers were Samantha Richdale, currently tied for 26th with a 154, Albiona Zhubi who turned in scores of 78-78 for a 156, tying for the 38th-place spot, and Katie Laehn, who shot a 158 and is now tied for 44th.
Illinois State head coach
Ray Kralis was impressed with the way the team performed against the tough field.
Nine of these 17 teams are in the top 100 in the country, so it is a really great field, Kralis said. We have played good golf and competed so far and have really proved we can compete with the top teams.
Kralis was also proud of the way his team competed in the first two rounds of the invitational.
We had a real solid start, which puts us in an awfully good position going into tomorrows final round, said Kralis. We have great confidence right now and that is attributed to the great team effort that the girls put forth today.
The Redbirds will return to Willowbend Golf Club on Tuesday, October 15th, for the final eighteen holes, which is slated to begin at 8:30 with a shotgun start.
