LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Behind wins from Kira Wolf, Kehler Koss, and Ali Schrock the Illinois State women's golf team finished 3-0 at the 2022 match-play event, winning the title in the 12-team field.
Both Koss and Schrock won all three of their matches over the two days, while Avalon Woodward and Wolf each went 2-1.
In the championship match against Central Michigan, Kira Wolf never trailed, and was tied just once after the first hole, before the Minnesota transfer won her next four holes to lead by four holes, five holes into the match. She continued to put her foot on the gas pedal, and led by seven holes through 12 total holes, securing the 7&6 win.
Schrock won her first two holes against the Chippewas, and never trailed throughout. She extended her margin to four at the turn, and after winning the 15th hole, she secured the 5&3 win.
The deciding win for ISU came from Kehler Koss, who went back and forth with her opponent over the front nine, as each player led for at least one hole, and there were five tie scores. Tied after the 10th hole, Koss won the 11th, 14th, and 17th holes to pull out the 3&1 win.
Woodward, after winning her first two matches of the event, fell 3&2 despite. Woodward trailed by two holes, six holes into the round, before winning two straight holes to send her and her opponent into the turn squared up. After matching scores on the 10th hole, her opponent picked up wins on two straight holes, and won her match 3&2.
Maria Toledo Bailey never led in her match, but never trailed by more than one hole until the 15th hole on the round, as the junior fell 2 &1.
In the semifinal match the Redbirds topped Northern Illinois by a 3-2 score, which included wins from Avalon Woodward, Kehler Koss, and Ali Schrock.
Woodward dropped the first two holes of her match, before rebounding in a strong way, before winning four of the final six holes on the front nine to take a two-stroke lead into the back half of the course. She never relinquished the lead and extended it to a three-home lead on the 17th hole, giving her the 3&1 victory.
Koss never trailed in her win – a 3&2 win – as she won the first two holes of her match. The margin reached a single hole for a handful of holes; however, winning the 15th and 16th holes gave her the victory.
Schrock also never trailed in the victory, winning the first and second holes. Her lead grew to as many as three, and she and her opponent each shot matching scores on the 18th hole to secure the 1UP win.
Wolf and her opponent were neck-in-neck for nearly the entire match, and the pair were tied through a seven-hole stretch, until the NIU golfer won the final two holes to win 1UP. Maria Toledo Bailey fell in the first two holes, and couldn't bounce back, falling 5&4.
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