March 26, 2007
Results
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Freshman Laura Harris fired her career low round of 73, leading her to a second-place finish individually as she helped guide the Illinois State women's golf to a third-place finish Monday at the Saluki Invitational.
The Redbirds finished just five shots back from the lead shooting a 615 (307, 308). Eastern Michigan fired a 303 in the second round to earn a first-place finish.
"We were able to gain a little ground on Southern Illinois today," said head coach Ray Kralis. "However, Eastern Michigan had a good round today and ended up tying the tournament low round."
The Redbirds had three people finish in the top 10 and five players tally top 20 finishes. Sophomore Tiffany Hockensmith and freshman Britt Knutson fired a 155 (77,78) to finish in a tie for ninth-place. Senior Hilary Anderson tallied a score of 157 (78,79) to tie for 13th. Freshman Stacey Miller finished one shot back shooting a 158 (79, 79) and tied for 16th, while sophomore Marci Hill shot 169 (87, 82) to finish in a tie for 51st. Competing individually, freshman Christine Larson shot 168 (82, 86) to finish tied for 48th, while senior Olivia Campos tallied a 178 (89, 89) to tie for 72nd.
"We had another day of very strong group effort," said Kralis. "Both rounds we saw five scores in the 70s which is very positive. Overall we had good consistent play from the group and another display of the Redbirds stepping up with low numbers."
EMU was able to slide ahead of the Redbirds in the final round, shooting 610 (307, 303) to clinch first-place at Hickory Ridge Golf Course. Missouri Valley Conference rival Southern Illinois finished just two shots ahead of the `Birds with a 613 (303, 310) to take second. Finishing 14 shots behind ISU, Murray State tallied a score of 629 (315, 314) to end in fourth, while Bradley shot a 632 (316, 316) to finish in fifth-place.
Kralis was pleased with how the team navigated the course and pulled together as a team.
"It seems like each week we get more consistent and have a team effort with various people stepping up for low individual rounds," said Kralis. "So I really like where we sit going into the next few tournaments before the conference championship."
The Redbirds will be back in action at the Illini Spring Classic April 6-7 at the Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Ill.
