BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Illinois State's all-out assault on the school record book continued this weekend at the Clash at Boulder Creek, where the 'Birds tied the program record for the lowest round with a seven-under 281, while the teams' three-round 864 is the third-lowest in program history.
Freshman Jessica Jolly was ISU's top finisher, carding a six-under 210, the lowest tournament score by a freshman in school history, and tied for the fourth-lowest tournament in program history regardless of class. Elise Fennell's three-round 212 is the second-lowest by a freshman, and the eighth-lowest in school history. This season Fennell has seven rounds where she has carded a score at or under par, already a season freshman record, with Jolly's total of five is second-most by a freshman.
San Francisco ran away with the team title with a three-round score of 823, and the Dons' 41 strokes under par are tied for the ninth-lowest tournament aggregate score in NCAA history. Northern Arizona (837), Fresno State (842), Boise State (846), Drake (855), Washington State (856), South Dakota State (856), UC Riverside (861), Northern Colorado (862), and Tarleton State (862) finished just ahead of ISU's 864. Cal State Fullerton (865), UTEP (871), Cal State Bakersfield (878), UTRGV (887), Southern Utah (888), and Incarnate Word (903) rounded out the 17 schools in the field.
Jolly recorded her second career top-10 finish as she tied for ninth in the strong field, carding identical rounds of 70 through all three days for her 210. Starting on the par-four 15th hole, she opened her day with a bogey, and after a par, birdie, and bogey, she came back over the next nine holes with an eagle, two birdies and six pars, dropping her score from +1 to -3. She closed her day with four pars and a bogey, ending with a 70, which is tied for the third-lowest single-round score by a freshman in school history.
Two days after tying the school freshman single-round record, Elise Fennell put together rounds of 69, 72, and 71 for the 211, the second-lowest tournament score by a freshman in school history, and her rounds are the first, 17th, and 11th-lowest tournament scores by a freshman in program history. Her final round opened on the par-four ninth hole, and after a pair of pars she carded her only over-par score on the round with a triple bogey. She clawed her way back with birdies on her ninth, 12th, 13th, and 16th holes, finishing with a one-under 71 to tie for 17th in the field.
Lory Paradis carded a two-under 70 in her final round at the tournament, and her 54-hole score of 217 ended tied for 35th in the field. Her last round she opened with six consecutive pars before birdies on her seventh and eighth holes and was never over par for the round. Two bogeys over her next six holes pushed her back to even par; however, she closed strong with two birdies over her final three to secure the season-best 70.
After two consecutive 74's to open the tournament, Jinyoung Yun carded a two-under 70, the 20th round of her career where she finished under par, the third-most over a career in school history. She trails former teammate Ali Schrock (27) and Illinois State Percy Family Athletics Hall of Fame member Samantha Richdale (21) on the all-time list, and ended the tournament tied for 41st. Yun opened her round with a birdie on her first hole and was never at or over par through the entire 18-hole round, one that saw her card an eagle, three birdies and a dozen pars.
A round after tying her own single-round school record, Morgan Jones finished with an even-par 72, and her three-round total of 219 is tied for 48th in the field and the score is tied for the 43rd-best in program history. Jones opened strong with three birdies over her first nine holes; however, hit a rough part of the course with four bogeys over a five-hole span to push her score to one over par. She immediately followed with a birdie to get back to even par, where she stayed over the final three holes as she ended with a trio of pars.
Alex Sparrow had her best finish of the tournament with a two-under 70 in the final round, a score that is tied for the third-lowest for a round for a freshman in school history. Her final-round score saw her finish with a 54-hole score of 226, tied for 74th in the field and for the 18th-lowest tournament score by a freshman in program history. Sparrow opened her day with a par, which was the only time during the round she was at or over par, as she followed with a birdie on her next hole. After eight pars she had two birdies over a three-hole span to drop her to three shots under par. A bogey followed – her only over-par score on the day – which was answered by four straight pars to give Sparrow the two-under final score.
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