For the first time in the history of the Illinois State womens golf program the Redbirds will have an individual advance to the NCAA Championships after sophomore Samantha Richdale clubbed a final round 73 on Saturday to finish tied for sixth overall in the 2004 NCAA Central Regional at Illinois State University Golf Course.
Richdale finished with a 222 during the three-day event and became the first Redbird to represent the Illinois State womens golf team at the national championship since the 1983 team. She finished tied with Laura Cross from Southern Methodist who will also go to the national championship as an individual.
My round today was almost exactly the same as yesterdays, Richdale said. I hit the ball much better, but struggled with my putting.
Illinois State head womens golf coach
Ray Kralis reflected on the 2003-04 season at the end of the day after his Redbirds shot a 309 on the day and finished in a tie for ninth place, just three strokes shy of the championship cut.
Overall, we certainly moved in the right direction throughout the year, Kralis said. We played some great tournaments and got a win in the last tournament of the regular season. I think each step along the way we continued to grow and mature as a team.
Katie Laehn finished with a 235 and Hillary Anderson and Ashlie Rose each added a 238, while Chelsea Bach settled for a 247.
Vanderbilt lived up to its No. 1 pre-tournament seed by claiming the 2004 NCAA Central Regional championship with a three round total of 893. With the win, the Commodores claimed their fifth tournament title of the season and their second straight after winning the Southeastern Conference title on April 18.
Head coach Martha Richards Freitag was pleased with how the Commodores responded with the No. 1 ranking.
I came to Vanderbilt four years ago and we were 53rd in the country, Freitag said. I think this group has become very confident this spring. If we keep playing the golf that were capable of, then we have a chance to win.
Joining Vanderbilt at the 2004 NCAA Championships in Opelika, Ala., will be Arizona (902), Michigan State (906), Southern California (910), Baylor (915), Purdue (917), New Mexico (918) and Texas A&M (926).
Winning regional medalist honors was Erica Blasberg from Arizona. Blasberg came into the tournament with the best stroke average (72.29) in the Central regional, and finished the three-day event at one-under-par with a 212.
The front nine I struggled a little bit with my shots, Blasberg said. I just wanted to keep it in play all day and then convert the putts.
