Feb. 20, 2006
PARRISH, Fla. -
Leading the tournament after the first-round, and tying for third at the end of the day, senior Samantha Richdale led the Illinois State women's golf team to a 13th place finish after day one of the Central District Invitational hosted by Michigan State. Richdale's two-round score of 148 (70,78) contributed to a collective Redbird score of 628 (304,324) for the first 36 holes of the tournament.
Head coach Ray Kralis recognized Richdale's contribution and was pleased with how strong the team entered the first-round.
"Samantha had a great start for her spring season," said Kralis. "We reinforced a lot about ourselves that first round. It was a key round that helped the team scores in a big way."
Following Richdale's lead was freshman Kaitlin Troop tied for 45th place with 158 (77,81) and on the heels of Troop, Chelsea Bach tied for 52nd place with 159 (79,80). Senior Ashlie Rose sits in 74th after day one with 177 (92,85). Junior Hilary Anderson withdrew from the tournament after shooting a 78 in the first-round of the day.
Part of an elite field, by invitation only, this competition was for the top teams in the Central region. Currently ranked number eight in the region, Baylor led the tournament with 600 (302,298). Following Baylor was a three way tie for second place with Ohio State, Missouri and Southwest Methodist with 609. Northwestern University and Nebraska sit tied for fifth place with 610, Louisiana State was in seventh and Kansas finished eighth. Michigan took ninth place with 619 and just two strokes behind Michigan was Michigan State in tenth. Notre Dame finished in 11th place and Kansas State took 12th only four strokes ahead of ISU. Texas Tech University trailed Illinois State by 11 strokes and finished day two in 14th place.
Kralis and his team are looking forward to day two of this tournament.
"We are looking forward to coming back tomorrow," said Kralis. "This is a group that can not only get back to regionals but I am confident that his group has what it takes to move out of regionals and to the national championship. It's all about building on a daily, weekly basis so that come April and May we are ready to go."
The Redbirds resume play on Tuesday, February 21st beginning at 8 a.m., for the final 18 holes of the tournament.
