NORMAL, Ill. – Behind a final-round 297 – the fourth-lowest round by any team in the tournament over the three rounds – the Illinois State women's golf team climbed two more spots into sixth after the final round at the 2022 Redbird Fall Invitational.
ISU's 297 was the second-lowest on the day and gave the Redbirds a three-round 911. Butler took home the team title with an 898, while Eastern Kentucky (899), Loyola (903), Northern Illinois (908), and Bowling Green (910) rounded out the top five ahead of the 'Birds. IUPUI (919), Bradley (922), Drake (923), Ball State (933), Evansville (944), Northern Iowa (960), Indiana State (960), Valparaiso (978), and Southern Indiana (998) closed out the 15 schools in the field.
Leading the way for the Redbirds was junior Kira Wolf who shot a three-round 220 – a career tournament low for the Mattoon, Illinois native and six strokes better than her top tournament score last season – to place sixth overall in the tournament. Three Redbirds – Ali Schrock, Vinisha Gunaseelan, and Emma Rouger – each tied for 12th with three-round 225's, while Avalon Woodward tied for 25th with a tournament total of 229. Playing in their first tournament as Redbird golfers, Orla O'Leary placed in a tie of 36th with a 233, while freshman Dani Grace Schrock placed in a tie for 61st with a 240.
The top finisher on the final day for ISU was Ali Schrock, who stumbled out of the gate with a bogey on her opening hole, but followed with three birdies and eight pars over her next 11 holes to drop her to two under par. She closed her day with two birdies, two pars, and two bogeys over her final six holes to close the round with a two-under 70.
Wolf carded one of just six eagles in the entire field on the final day and had two birdies and nine pars to finish with the two-over 74 on the final round.
Woodward started her round well, with two birdies over her first four holes, and after a stretch of seven straight pars, she hit a stumble but recovered at the end of her round to close with a three-over 75 for the entire 18 holes.
Gunaseelan was steady for the Redbirds, using a team-high-tying 14 pars on the round to shoot a four-over 76, finishing just outside of the top-10 for the tournament.
Freshman Dani Grace Schrock saved her best for the final round of the Invitational, carding a now-career-low 76 in the third and final round, using a birdie and team-high-tying 14 pars to finish four strokes over par for the round.
O'Leary had a birdie and a dozen pars in her final round, finishing five over par for the full 18 holes of the final round to card a 77 for ISU.
Rouger had the seventh and final Redbird score in the tournament, using a birdie and 12 pars to counter five over-par scores to finish her round with a 79.
The Redbirds return to the golf course on Monday, September 26 when the squad travels to Columbia, Missouri, to compete in the three-day Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri.
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