Boulder City, Nev. – Junior Caitlin Sims sits in a tie for third place on the individual leaderboard, after shooting a solid 6-over-par 150 (76-74) Monday over the first two rounds of the Battle at Boulder Creek tournament at the par-72, 6,285-yard Boulder City Golf Course.
The Illinois State women's golf team battled a variety of weather conditions. The student-athletes encountered rain, hail and eventually sunny conditions. As a team, the Redbirds currently sit in ninth place in the nine-team field with a 633 (313-320). The Redbirds were in a tie for first place at the conclusion of the first round with a 313, before shooting a 320 in the second round. Toledo leads the event with a 611 (313-298), three strokes ahead of second-place Northern Illinois.
Next on the leaderboard for the Redbirds was senior Kiley Walsh, who finished her day in a tie for 20th place and accumulated a total score of 156 (76-80). Freshman Tatum King shot a total score of 163 (80-83). One stroke behind King was senior Abby Luchtenburg, who shot a 164 (81-83). Rounding out the scoring for Illinois State was sophomore Paige Seiser, who carded a 167 (81-86).
The Redbirds also had three student-athletes competing as individuals. Sophomore Morgan Savage led the way with a 156 (81-75). She currently sits in a seven-way tie for 20th place with teammate Walsh. Freshman Maria Jose Rojas finished the day with a 167 (82-85), while junior Leia Atas finished with a 168 (86-82).
"After finishing a tough first round tied for the lead it's hard to stomach sitting at the bottom after round two," said ISU women's golf head coach Darby Sligh "We simply cannot compete counting scores in the 80's. We are working on a lot of things both technically and mentally, and it showed in the second round that we just were not ready to execute when it counted. This team is certainly capable and they know that. It's only a matter of time before they break through. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow. Caitlin played very solid today even through the extremely tough conditions and it's always nice as a coach to see hard work pay off for a player."
ISU concludes the Battle at Boulder Creek Tuesday with the third and final round, which begins with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. CT.
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