Freshman Samantha Richdale, who has been the top finisher in the first two Illinois State womens golf teams events, will lead the charge for the Redbirds as they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend, September 28-29, for the Lady Northern Invitational.
ISU head coach
Ray Kralis set attainable goals for Richdale and the rest of the team for the approaching tournament.
I believe they can compete with the tough field, Kralis said. We just need to play the golf course and meet our own expectations. If we do these things, I have no doubt that how we do as a team will take care of itself.
The competitive field that Kralis speaks of consists of 12 teams, eight of them being Big Ten schools. Iowa serves as the host of the 3-round tournament, which will begin on Saturday at 8:30 am with a shotgun start. The teams will play a 54-hole format, with 36 holes played on Saturday and the final round of 18 on Sunday. The Lady Northern Invitational will be played at the Finkbine Golf Course, which is a par 73.
The Redbirds will play off of their strengths in hopes of performing well at the invitational.
Our biggest strength is the depth of our top five. They know how to handle adversity, whether it comes with a lead or a loss, said Kralis. I only hope that everyone shares the workload and if that happens then we should be able to post some low numbers. That is exactly what it will take to come out on top in this tournament.
