LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Following an opening round that saw the Redbirds tied for fifth, Illinois State climbed two spots over the middle 18 holes and head into the final round in third place at The Atlantic Invitational, hosted at Fountains Country Club.
ISU carded rounds of 307 and 297 on the day, and the 604 trails only Arkansas State (574) and Quinnipiac (600). The Redbirds are ahead of Marshall (611), Keiser (613), Eastern Michigan (616) and Lehigh (618) heading into the final round of competition in the spring's inaugural event for the Redbirds.
Illinois State's second-round 297 is the 10th time this season that the Redbirds have had a team score under 300, tied for the second-most in a season in program history, and trail just the 2021-22 squad which had a dozen such rounds through the entire fall and spring season.
Individually, the team was led on the first day by Ali Schrock, who carded rounds of 76 and 72 to card a six-over 148 through the opening 18 holes. Schrock struggled to start her day, as she was five strokes over par through her first five holes; however, her final 31 holes on the day she finished one over par. She battled back from her slow start to record a five-hole stretch in which she had three birdies, a par, and a bogey, closing her opening round with a five-over 76. Her second round and two birdies, 13 pars and a trio of bogeys en route to her 71.
Jinyoung Yun and Avalon Woodward are each on the cusp of a top-10 finish at the event, as the pair are tied for 11th with matching 36-hole scores of 149.
Woodward was steady on her day with rounds of 74 and 75, as she had three birdies, 10 pars, and five over-par scores her first time around the course. In her second round she had 14 pars and four bogeys over the 18 holes, finishing with a four-over 75. She leads the field on par-five scoring on the day, as she is one of two players in the tournament to be a total of two strokes under par on the par fives on the day.
Yun had a more roller-coaster day as she struggled out of the gate and was six shots over par through her first nine holes; however, her back nine was steadier, as she had a birdie, seven pars and a bogey to end her opening round with a six-over 77. For the second time around the course, she stumbled with three bogeys and six pars, and finished the round strong with a back nine of two birdies and seven pars, finishing with the one-over 72. Yun is one of just eight golfers in the field (including Woodward) to be under par on the course's par-fives, as she is one under par in those holes through 36 holes.
Both Michaela Kverkova and Vinisha Gunaseelan (playing as an individual) ended the day with 36-hole scores of 158, Kverkova carding rounds of 80 and 78 and Gunaseelan rounds of 81 and 77. Dani Grace Schrock closed out the six Redbird golfers in the field with rounds of 81 and 87.
The tournament concludes tomorrow with the Redbirds teeing off at 7:55 a.m. (CT) over the final 18 holes, as ISU will be golfing alongside Quinnipiac and Arkansas State.
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