March 26, 2006
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
Despite a challenging day on the golf course, the Illinois State women's golf team is in fifth place after 18 holes of the Southern Illinois University 12th Annual Women's Golf Saluki Invitational. Only two places and five strokes behind last year's champions Southern Illinois, the Redbirds look to make a come back for tomorrow's final round.
The two-day tournament, held on the par 72 Hickory Ridge Golf has been a challenge to the `Birds and head coach Ray Kralis has confidence that his team will put up a good round tomorrow.
"A lot can still happen," said Kralis. "This type of course can cause a good round to turn around really fast. We are not as far off as the scoreboard makes us look and the team as a whole looks forward to coming back tomorrow."
Currently two `Birds sit in the top-10. Hilary Anderson leads the `Birds and is tied for fifth place with 77 (39,38). Tied for ninth place, Samantha Richdale shot a 38 and 40 for a final 18-hole score of 78. Trailing Richdale, Ashlie Rose shot 79 (36,43) to tie for 15th place. Six strokes shy of a score in the 70s, Olivia Campos tied for 45th place with 85 (45,40). Trailing teammate Campos by only one stroke, Marci Hill took 51st place with 86 (41,45).
Kralis looks at tomorrow as a challenge for his team.
"It will be a good challenge for this group tomorrow," said Kralis. "Hilary and Samantha continue to play well. Ashlie keeps fighting with great determination to have an impact and Marci and Olivia are just shy of some really solid scores. Everyone is a little disappointed where we sit in this field right now, so in terms of momentum, it is ideal to have a strong round tomorrow."
Bradley leads the 13-team field after day one of competition with 301. Eastern Kentucky trails Bradley by ten strokes for second place and host Southern Illinois is on the heels of second with 312. Murray State sits in fourth place, only two strokes ahead of Illinois State. Missouri Valley Conference teams Northern Iowa stand in seventh place with 326 and Evansville is in ninth place with 337.
Kralis recognizes conference team Bradley's efforts, but looks forward to having a solid final round.
"From a team standpoint, Bradley got off to a great start with a really solid round," said Kralis. "Even though placing wise we are not quite where we want to be, we look forward to the opportunity for tomorrow to get better, which will lead us into the Missouri Valley Conference tournament around the corner."
The final18 holes will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 27 at the Hickory Ridge Golf Course in Carbondale, Ill.
