May 6, 2011
Results
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -
The Illinois State women's golf team took advantage of strong finishes in the final few holes Friday to improve its team score by 12 strokes in the second round of the NCAA Central Regional at the Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind.
The Redbirds bounced back from a team score of 329 in the opening round Thursday and carded a team score of 317 in the second round to record a two-round score of 646, which places ISU in 24th place. The combined score of 646 is just one shot Morehead State, three shots behind UNLV and five shots back of Butler in 21st place.
"On another tough day at the Warren Golf Course, we were able to bounce back in a number of ways," ISU head coach Darby Sligh said. "We had multiple strong finishes that allowed us to make up shots on the field. Tomorrow is a big day for us to finish what we started and continue gaining much needed experience along the way."
Terra Miller, the team's lone senior, bounced back from an opening-round 81 to shoot a four-over-par 76 to lead the way for the Redbirds. She is currently tied for 70th place in the field and her two-round total of 157 is just one stroke behind freshman Brianna Cooper, who carded a six-over-par 78 for the second-straight day to bring her two-round score to 156 and put her in a tie for 58th place overall. Cooper recorded a pair of birdies in the final four holes to finish the day on a strong note.
Katie Jean and Rachel Powers are tied for 117th place with two-round totals of 167. Jean bounced back from an 86 in the first round of competition and shot 81 Friday tie Powers, who improved three strokes from an 85 to finish with a score of 82 Friday. Hannah Bachman rounds out the lineup and sits just one stroke behind with a two-round score of 168 (85-83).
The Redbirds will look to build on the late momentum gained in the second round and move up the leader board, when they tee off Saturday at 1:25 p.m. (ET) in the final round. Bachman will be the first of the Redbirds to tee off, with Powers (1:36 p.m.), Jean (1:47 p.m.), Miller (1:58 p.m.) and Cooper (2:09 p.m.) to follow immediately after.
UCLA holds onto the first-place position by six strokes going into the final day of competition, as the Bruins' Ani Gulugian sits in second place (145) behind overall leader Emily Tubert of Arkansas (144), who shot a three-under-par 69 Friday to take the lead.
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com, with results to be distributed at the conclusion of the final round.
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