Jan. 29, 2011
VENICE, Fla. -
Illinois State's women's golf team came up short against Illinois Saturday, as the Illini defeated the Redbirds 8-4, in the four-ball and individual match play Illinois Challenge at the Sarasota National Golf Club. Illinois now stands 3-0 over ISU in Challenge history.
Illinois started with a slight upper hand in the morning's four-ball matches.
Katie Jean and Kaitlin Reid defeated Raquel Hopton and Katelin Dilger two holes up, while Hailey Koschmann and Crystal Smith defeated Terra Miller and Rachel Powers, four up with three to play. Jordyn Wyzgowski and Brianna Cooper defeated Nora Lucas and Jackie Calamaro two up, as Samantha Sloan and Ember Schuldt defeated Hannah Bachman and Carlee Cossell, four up with three to play.
"We played extremely well all day today, but couldn't fend off a veteran Illini squad," said head coach Darby Sligh. "We have many positives to draw from in the next few weeks, especially from our morning matches."
In the afternoon's individual matches, Illinois sealed the deal to take the third-straight Illinois Challenge win over ISU.
Illinois' Dilger, Koschmann, Lucas, Calamaro, Schuldt and Sloan outplayed ISU's Wyzgowski,Powers, Bachman, Cossell, Jean and Reid, three and two, four and three, one up, seven and six, three and one and seven and six, respectively.
Illinois State's Cooper and Miller were able to record individual wins over Liddy and Smith, finishing six and five and three and two, respectively.
"I'm proud of the way this young team handled themselves and fought throughout the day," said Sligh. "This event gave us a unique opportunity to build a solid foundation for the rest of the spring, regardless of the outcome. We will take what we have learned from this experience and apply it to our practice in the coming weeks."
The women's spring season continues Feb. 13, with the three-day UCF Challenge at the Red Tail Golf Course in Sorrento, Fla.
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