RIO VERDE, Ariz. – After a solid tournament-opening round, the Illinois State Redbirds went low in the second of three rounds, carding an 18-hole tally of 284, as the Redbirds climbed to third in the team standings with 18 holes to play in the tournament.
The 284 that the Redbirds shot as a team is the third-lowest single-round in program history. The team's round under 300 is the squad's 12th of the season, tying the single-season school record in sub-300 stroke rounds that was set in 2021-22 – ISU's last NCAA Regional squad.
Ali Schrock's second-round 69 is tied for the seventh-lowest round score in program history, and she has a two-day 141 (-3) and is tied for third with 18 holes to play in the tournament. Jinyoung Yun's two-under 70 has her with a two-round 143 (-1) and is tied for sixth. Avalon Woodward is tied for 20th with 18 holes left, while Michaela Kverkova (150) and Vinisha Gunaseelan (151) are tied for 39th and 47th, respectively.
Xavier, Cal Baptist, and Illinois State each shot second-round 284's, and Xavier leads the field after two rounds with a 575 and Cal Baptist just ahead of ISU's 580 with a 576. Kennesaw State (585), Bradley (587), Butler (588), Missouri State (589), Ohio (590), Akron (592), Oakland (596), Wichita State (596), South Dakota (597), Utah Tech (599), Ball State (603), Loyola (605), Evansville (607), Western Michigan (609), Eastern Michigan (612), Bowling Green (614), and Central Michigan (618) round out the 20 schools in the field.
The third and final round of the event runs Sunday, February 25.
Ali Schrock – who opened her day on the 12th hole – started her day with back-to-back birdies and was never over par during the second round. After her dynamic start the fifth-year senior carded her only non-par score of the round with a bogey. After pars on her fourth and fifth holes, she had back-to-back birdies for the second time over her first seven holes, dropping her to three shots under par. She steadied herself out over her next five holes, before a birdie on 13th hole snapped a streak of five consecutive pars as she close her round with four pars and a bogey to finish three shots under par.
Yun started her second round with six consecutive pars before tallying her first birdie of the day on her seventh hole. She came back with 10 straight pars before closing her round with a birdie and a par to finish two shots under par.
Woodward – who started on the 13th hole – opened her day with a pair of pars before the first of two bogeys on the round pushed her to a stroke over par. After a par buffer, she recorded a birdie to drop back to even par on her fifth hole of the day. Following another par, she dipped to below par with a birdie on her seventh hole. She followed with a bogey, par, and birdie, to remain at one under par, setting the stage for five straight pars, ending the day with a birdie, bogey, and birdie to finish two shots under par with a 70.
Kverkova – opening on the 14th hole – was also under par early in the round, as she opened with a par and a bogey, before back-to-back birdies on her third and fourth holes dropped her to -1 early in the round. She had back-to-back birdies later in the round, and had a team-high five birdies on her round.
Gunaseelan got off to a strong start with a pair of pars and was followed with a pair of birdies to drop to -2 early in the round. Her next seven holes she had five pars and two bogeys, to go back to even; however, she immediately came back with a birdie to get back to -1. A double-bogey followed, pushing her to one stroke over par, and closed with three pars and a pair of bogeys to finish with the three-over 75.
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