NORMAL, Ill. – Playing in a tournament on its home course for the first time since September 9, 2019, the Illinois State Redbirds came out with a strong performance over the first two rounds of the Redbird Spring Invitational, and lead the four-team field by seven strokes overall, and have six golfers inside of the top-10 in the field.
The Redbirds are searching for their first team win since the 2014 squad won this event, while the team's most recent individual medalist also came via Brianna Cooper at the same tournament.
The Redbirds had rounds of 301 and 299 for an even 600, while Northern Illinois carded a 607, Loyola Chicago a 649, and Valparaiso a 654.
Leading the charge individually is sophomore Ali Schrock whose two-round 147 (+3) has her leading the field by two strokes. Emma Sutton is tied for second place after two rounds with a 149, with Emma Rouger (151, 5th), Becca Black (152, t-6th), Maria Toledo Bailey (153, t-8th), and Jasmine Yi (153, t-8th) are all inside of the top-10 overall. Avalon Woodward (161, t-18th), Tatum King (164, t-21st), and Paige Seiser (DQ, 80) complete the nine-person Redbird squad.
Starting on the fourth hole, Schrock opened and closed her first round with birdies, while in between recording 13 pars and a trio of bogeys for a one-over 73. Her second round saw two birdies again to go with 12 pars and four bogeys for a four-over 74.
Sutton opened her day on the third hole and started with six consecutive pars. She hit a struggle over the next eight holes, coming out of that stretch at six shots over par, but she rebounded quickly with an eagle on the par-five 18th hole, followed by a birdie two holes later to close her opening 18 holes with a three-over 75. Her second round saw a birdie, 14 pars and three bogeys, finishing a stroke better than her opening round and in a tie for second in the field.
Emma Rouger had a roller-coaster of an opening round with four birdies, five pars, and nine bogeys for an opening-round 77. She opened the second round two strokes over par over the first four holes, but settled in to play even-par over the final 14 holes of the day, including three birdies and three bogeys to finish with a two-over 74 on the round, and is fifth individually at seven strokes over par through the two rounds.
Senior Becca Black closed her first day in a tie for sixth, opening the tournament with an eight-over 80 including eight bogeys and 10 pars. She came back with an even-par 72 in the second round that saw her record two birdies, 14 pars, and a pair of bogeys, ending the 36 holes with an eight-over 152.
Toledo Bailey opened her day with a four-over 76 that included a birdie, a dozen pars and five bogeys for a four-over 76. She ended her second round with 14 pars and four above-par scores, finishing with a 77, tied for eighth in the field.
Yi, who opened her day on the 10th hole, started strong with a birdie on her second hole, as she made the turn to the front nine at one shot under par. The windy conditions wreaked havoc on Yi and the field, as the Redbird junior finished six shots over par over the back nine, ending her round with a five-over 77. Her second round saw her open with six pars and a birdie over her first nine holes; however, had an up-and-down back nine with a par, three birdies, and five above-par scores, ending the round four shots over par, and is nine shots over par through the two rounds.
Woodward, a freshman, finished her first home tournament round with an 11-over 83, a round that saw her card a birdie and seven pars. She bounced back strong for the second 18 holes with a six-over 78 in the afternoon with a dozen pars.
King had a birdie in each of her two rounds on the day, the first round birdie coming on the par-three fourth hole – while also adding six pars on the round. Her second-round birdie also came on a par-three, the 11th hole, as her afternoon round saw eight pars in the competition.
Seiser had a miscommunication on her scorecard in the first round, which caused the senior to DQ for the round, as she bounced back with a second-round 80 that had a birdie and eight pars.
The Redbirds take back to the course for the third and final round on Saturday morning, starting at 8 a.m., with tee times going from 8 until 9:40 am.
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