Feb. 26, 2007
Results
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - The Redbirds' spring season debut at the Fighting Camel Spring Classic Monday started the season on a high note as the Illinois State women's golf team finished day one in second.
The Redbirds fired a first round with a total of 315, trailing host Campbell by 15 shots.
"I was very pleased with the way they played today," said assistant coach Pina Gentile said. "We got off to a rough start our first few holes, but everybody was able to hang in there and put up good scores."
Tiffany Hockensmith led the `Birds firing a 74, tying for fifth. Britt Knutson closely followed shooting 79 and tied for 15th. Hilary Anderson put up a score of 80 and tied for 21st. Stacey Miller tied for 38th with an 82. Marci Hill shot 86 and tied for 63rd individually.
"Our front nine scores could have been better, but everybody hung in and had a much better back nine," said Gentile. "I was really proud with how the girls handled themselves; they did a good job focusing their attention and letting go of things they couldn't control."
Host Campbell, the nine time champion, ended day one in first-place. Behind Illinois State was Missouri Valley Conference member Wichita State, who fired a 317. Finishing closely together was Richmond (318) placing fourth, Gardner-Webb (319) in fifth and Mercer (320) in sixth. Xavier finished in seventh shooting a 321, while High Point and Colorado State tied for eighth (322). Longwood shot 328 for tenth, followed by Radford (11th), Old Dominion (12th) and Wyoming (13th). Last year's champion Georgetown shot 337 for 14th place while Bowling Green (345) finished 15th.
Gentile and the team are excited to be back out on the course tomorrow as a contender for a top finish.
"I would look for them to continue to improve individually, whether it is their long or short game," said Gentile. "The idea is to leave here more confident about our game and prepared both mentally and physically for the Rio Verde Collegiate Challenge."
The Redbirds will compete in the final round of the Fighting Camel Classic Tuesday morning with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
