BOULDER CITY, Nev. – A final nine-hole stretch in which the Redbirds shot a combined five strokes under par, ISU climbed from the bottom portion of the field into third by the end of the opening day with an opening-round 293.
ISU trails just Long Beach State (283) – ranked 67th - and San Francisco (287) – ranked 82nd - in the team standings. Chasing the Redbirds – who are ranked 140th in the weekly Golfweek Women's Team Collegiate Rankings presented by StrackaLine – include 87th-ranked Boise State (293), UC Irvine (296), Fresno State (296), San Diego State (297), Seattle (300), Idaho (301), Weber State (302), Northern Colorado (302), tournament host Northern Arizona (302), UTEP (304), CSU-Bakersfield (304), UTRGV (305), Montana State (305), Southern Utah (307), UC Riverside (309), and North Dakota (316).
Illinois State heads into the second day of the three-day tournament alongside Long Beach State, San Francisco, and Boise State starting at 10 a.m. CT (8 a.m. local time).
Three Redbirds card a one-over 73, as Jinyoung Yun, Avalon Woodward, and Vinisha Gunaseelan each are tied for 16th in the deep field.
Yun started her day with two bogeys and two pars over her opening four holes, before closing strong with a birdie and 13 pars to close her day with a one-over 73.
Woodward had a rocky start, and through her first nine holes was four shots over par. She was stellar over the back half of her round, with three birdies and six pars, dropping to one over par after the opening 18 holes.
Gunaseelan was steady throughout and was one over par after her opening nine holes with eight pars and a bogey, while on her back nine she had two birdies, five pars, and two bogeys, closing the day a stroke over par.
Sophomore Dani Grace Schrock had a strong finishing 10 holes. After standing five strokes over par through the first eight holes, se closed strong with three birdies and seven pars, and at two strokes over par, her 74 is tied for 26th overall in the field.
The fifth Redbird golfer in the field is graduate student Ali Schrock, who had 11 pars and a birdie over her 18 holes, finishing with an 82 which is tied for 96th in the deep field.
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