May 13, 2006
Bryan, Texas -
Samantha Richdale's historic Illinois State golf career came to an end by the slimmest of margins Saturday, as the Redbird senior shot a seven-over-par 79 in the final day of the 2006 NCAA Central Regional Golf Championships. Richdale's 54-hole total of 226 was one stroke higher than Julia Best and three higher than Devan Andersen, both of Texas, who earned the two individual spots in the NCAA Finals.
She led the tournament through the first 34 holes before eventually finishing tied for 15th. But, in a field which included six of the top 13 ranked players in the nation, Richdale's final-day struggles enabled Andersen and Best to squeeze past her and move on to the finals.
Richdale's Saturday round was devoid of the consistency which had put her in position to win the tournament after Friday's second round. In the final round, she parred just seven holes to go with three birdies, six bogies and two double-bogies. Her eight holes over par in the final 18 exceeded her total of seven on the first 36 holes. Falling to nine over par after 14 holes, Richdale finished strong by scoring birdies on three of her final four holes to remain in the hunt for an individual bid to the NCAA Finals.
Redbird assistant coach Pina Gentile watched Richdale's struggles, and saw her battle to overcome them.
"She had difficulty striking the ball well today and it just didn't end up going where she wanted it to," said Gentile. "But I give her a lot of credit: she hung in there and gave herself a chance to get to the finals. It just wasn't to be.
Southern California, behind medalist Irene Cho, edged Duke by two strokes for the team title. That pair of teams will be joined by Pepperdine, Florida, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Kent State and Nebraska. The Texas duo advances as individuals because they are the top two individuals whose team will not advance. Richdale was one of three golfers invited to the Central Regional as individual players from teams which did not earn regional bids.
Richdale's career ends with three individual titles in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, two Valley Tournament team titles and two team trips to the NCAA Regionals. The native of Kelowna, B.C., earned a trip to the NCAA Finals in 2004 as an individual, and set Valley records for individual league titles won and most times selected as player of the week.
While her college career might be over, she has a long career ahead on the golf course according to Gentile.
"She plans to start out on the Futures Tour," said Gentile. "Today's round doesn't take anything away from all she has accomplished as a college golfer and from the way she has represented Illinois State. She will continue to be successful as a golfer because she is the kind of person and kind of player who can be under par on a consistent basis."
