RIO VERDE, Ariz. – After the second of three days was washed out for rain and the third day was converted to a 36-hole day, the Illinois State women's golf team closed the tournament in strong fashion with rounds of 310 and 299 to climb into 12th in the strong field at the Rio Verde Invitational.
Illinois State's final-round score of 299 was the fourth-best team score of the final round and is the team's second-lowest round score of the season, behind the 292 the squad put up at the Redbird Invitational.
Arkansas State won the tournament with a three-round score of 880, while Northern Illinois carded an 892. Xavier (903), Seton Hall (906), Akron (908), Ball State (909), Wichita State (913), Little Rock (917), Bradley (920), Boise State (920), Missouri State (923) all finished narrowly ahead of Illinois State's 925. The 'Birds topped Eastern Michigan (926), Ohio (941), Western Michigan (945), Kansas City (950), Central Michigan (950), and Bowling Green (959).
Senior Becca Black was the top finisher at the tournament, tying for 22nd place of the 95 golfers in the tournament. She shot an even-par 72 over the second round of the tournament, closing her final 11 holes at four strokes under par, with four birdies on her last six holes including three straight to close the round. She carried the momentum from the close of her second round and carried it into the third round with four pars to open the round. She added a birdie – her fifth of the day – and carded a four-over 76 on the final round.
After an even-par opening round, senior Morgan Savage added a birdie on the second round and finished with an 83, before rebounding with three birdies and 10 pars on the final round and carded a two-over 74 and tied for 31st in the field.
Freshman Ali Schrock improved her score over every round, shooting a four-over 76 in the second round of the day, including three birdies, and followed that up with a two-over 74 over the final 18 holes of the day, including a birdie and 14 pars to tie for 38th in the strong field.
Like Schrock, junior Emma Sutton also improved over each of her three rounds, following up her opening-round 88 with scores of 79 (+7) and 77 (+5) including a pair of birdies over her final 18 holes of the day, tying for 79th.
Senior Paige Seiser struggled in her first round of the day, carding an 88 but rebounded in a big way with a three-over 75 over the final 18 holes including a birdie and 13 pars, as she tied for 87th overall in the tournament.
Playing as an individual, junior Tatum King finished with an eight-over 80 on the second round and a nine-over 81 on the finale to tie for 54th overall.
Illinois State returns to action on Thursday and Friday, March 12-13 as the team travels to Daytona Beach, Florida, to compete in the Lady Cat Invitational.
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