BOULDER CITY, Nev. – A day after setting the program record for lowest round in program history, the Illinois State Redbirds matched their record-setting 282, and the three-round tournament score of 857 broke the previous tournament mark by nine strokes.
ISU's tournament score of 857 broke the previous mark of 866 set in the season opener at the Redbird Invitational. This season the Redbirds have added three of the top-12 all-time tournament marks, including a third with an 896 at the Johnie Imes Invitational. Four players carded tournament scores of 218 or better, which put those four inside of the top-20 individual tournament totals in program history.
The Redbirds placed fifth overall in the 19-team field with their 857, as Long Beach State ran away with the tournament title with a 25-under 839, which is the 56th-lowest tournament score in NCAA history. San Francisco (850), Northern Arizona (852), and Seattle (856) formed the four schools ahead of ISU. Boise State (858), Fresno State (864), San Diego State (871), UTEP (874), UC Irvine (875), Northern Colorado (876), UC Riverside (877), Weber State (880), Montana State (880), Idaho (884), Bakersfield (888), Southern Utah (896), UTRGV (897), and North Dakota (928) closed out the teams in the field.
One day after tying her program record with a second-round 67, Jinyoung Yun finished two shots under par with a 70, her eighth at or under-par round of the season in 12 total rounds as she heads into the spring season averaging 70.8 strokes per round. In her final round of the fall season she was never over par, as she opened with a par and a birdie, before capping her front nine with a bogey to make the turn at even par.
Her back nine opened with two pars, a birdie and a bogey; and she ended her day with two birdies and a par to close the day at two strokes under par and tied for fifth individually in the tournament. Her three-round total of 210 is the second-lowest tournament score in program history, second only to her 204 from the season opening Redbird Invitational.
Vinisha Gunaseelan improved her score over each of the three rounds of the tournament with round scores of 73, 72, and a final round one-under 71. Starting on the first hole, she carded a bogey on her fourth hole before evening herself with a birdie on her eighth hole, making the turn at even par. After three pars to open her back nine she birdied the 13th hole and ended with five more pars to close with a 71. Her three-round 216 is tied for the eighth-lowest tournament score in school history and she heads into the spring season with a scoring average of 74.3 over a dozen rounds in the fall.
Avalon Woodward and Dani Grace Schrock had matching tournament scores of 218 – tied for 17th-lowest in program history – and for 32nd in the tournament. Woodward heads into the spring season second on the team in scoring average at 74.1 with four at or under par rounds, while Dani Grace Schrock averages 75.8 strokes per round.
Woodward's final round was at even par, and she finished two strokes over par. Her first hole of the final round was a bogey, before six holes later evening her score with a birdie on the par-four ninth hole. A bogey five holes later pushed her back over by a stroke before a birdie three holes later – and a round-ending three pars – sent her into the clubhouse with an even-par 72.
Dani Grace Schrock had a trio of birdies and four bogeys on her one-over round of 73, as she had rounds of 74, 71, and 73 for her three-round 218.
The low round of the day for the Redbirds came from graduate student Ali Schrock, as the former MVC Golfer of the Year used four birdies and an eagle to finish with a three-under 69 over her final round of the fall. After a rocky start to the tournament – eight shots over par through her first nine holes – she closed strong, playing the final 45 holes at one shot under par.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
