SEDONA, Ariz. – Behind an opening-round team score of 287 – tied for the second-lowest single-round score in program history – the Illinois State Redbirds are in third place, just five strokes off of the lead late in the second round as play has been halted due to darkness.
The teams will finish their second rounds starting at 9:45 a.m. CT (7:45 a.m. Pacific Time), and then roll through to the third and final round.
"I'm really proud of the effort and focus from the team today," said ISU head coach Bre Hall. "We had a great opening round where we stuck to our game plan and continued to put ourselves in good positions. We made a few mistakes to start the second round, but the team continued to fight and bounced back with a few birdies at the end of our day."
ISU's opening round of 287 is tied for the second-lowest single-round in program history, behind only the 286 put up last season by the squad at the Mid-American Challenge, and is tied with the 287 from the Johnie Imes Invitational earlier this season. The sub-300 score is also the team's ninth this season, the most by a team in a single-season in program history.
Grand Canyon leads the field through the stoppage in the second round and is three shots under par as a team. Tournament host Northern Arizona is +1, while the Redbirds are +2, as ISU golfers have between 3-5 holes remaining on their second rounds. Cal Baptist (+8), Weber State (+10), Wichita State (+12), North Dakota State (+15), Idaho (+18), Delaware (+18), Towson (+19), Utah Valley (+29), Dixie State (+30), Southern Utah (+33), Portland State (+35), Stephen F. Austin (+36), Montana (+37), Montana State (+39), Longwood (+39), and Northern Colorado (+42) round out the 19 schools in the tournament field.
Illinois State has five of its six golfers inside of the top-25 in the field, with the sixth sitting in a tie of 36th in the 109-person field. Avalon Woodward is tied for ninth in the field and is at even par with four holes remaining in her second round. Ali Schrock and Kehler Koss are both one stroke over par through a round-plus which is tied for 12th in the field, as Schrock has three holes remaining in her second round and Koss five. Playing as an individual, Emma Rouger's +2 aggregate score has her tied for 16th with three holes left in her second round. Kira Wolf, who is tied for 22nd, is +4 with four holes left in her second round, as Vinisha Gunaseelan is +6 with three holes left in her strong second round (-2 in the second round), and is tied for 36th in the large field.
Woodward, in her career-tying opening round of 70 started on the par-four fifth hole, and after five consecutive pars to open her day, she recorded a bogey on her sixth hole. She was stellar through the next 10 holes, as she carded four birdies and six pars, dropping her score to three strokes under par, before a bogey on her next-to-last hole sent her into the clubhouse after the opening 18 holes with a two-under-par 70. The 70 was her fourth round this season at or under par.
Schrock had an up-and-down start to her round, as she had two birdies, two pars, and two bogeys through her opening six holes of the day and was at even par during that stretch. She evened out over her final 12 holes with 11 pars and a birdie, carding a one-under 71, her sixth round this season at or under par.
Koss was the third Redbird to end the round at under-par, as her one-under 71 came despite an up-and-down start that saw two birdies, two pars, a bogey and a double-bogey through her first six holes. At one shot over par a third of the way through her round she came on strong for her next eight holes with three birdies and five pars, turning the +1 into a -2, before a bogey on her 15th hole of the round, followed by three more pars, sent her into the clubhouse with her third par or lower round of the season.
Wolf, starting play on the par-four eighth hole, had a solid opening round, below her season average, which saw two birdies and 11 pars for the three-over 75.
Gunaseelan had the team's throw-away score from the opening round, as she shot an eight-over 80, a round that had 11 pars.
Playing as an individual – and in her opening tournament of the year – Emma Rouger opened play with a three-over 75, a round in which she had three birdies and 11 pars.
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