Oct. 27, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's golf team earned its first top-five finish of the season early in October at The Shoot-Out at the Legends, and the Redbirds will look to build off that success as they head to the Ross Resorts Invitational Monday and Tuesday Oct. 29-30. The host institution for the invitational is Rollins College.
The 15-team, 54-hole event will be held at the 6,114 yard, par 72 Mid Pines Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. Illinois State will see some fresh competition as they have only competed against 3 of the teams in the field this season.
Mid Pines opened in 1921 and was designed by Donald Ross, who also designed Pinehurst No. 2 along with an astounding 413 other courses.
Redbird head coach Darby Sligh is very familiar with the history of Mid Pines and the opportunities it presents to her young team.
"This is going to be a really neat tournament for us," said Sligh. "I have played Mid Pines in college and in junior golf and it is a terrific course that can allow some low scores. There is a lot of history there but also a great opportunity for us."
The Redbirds will be led by junior co-captain Tiffany Hockensmith, who is coming off a seventh-place tie at The Shoot-Out at the Legends. Also competing for Illinois State are sophomores Laura Harris, Britt Knutson, Christine Larson, and Stacey Miller.
"We will see a very competitive field in North Carolina this week, but it is an event that we feel we can win," said Sligh. "We have been consistent all year; we are just waiting to break out and put up some consistently low scores. Hopefully we can do that this week and end the fall season strong."
Tee times for the first 36 holes are set for an 8 a.m. shotgun start Monday, with the final 18 holes beginning Tuesday also at 8 a.m.
