SEDONA, Ariz. – After yesterday's second round was stopped due to darkness, the Redbirds and the other 19 schools in the Red Rocks Invitational field returned to the course on Sunday to finish their second round and play the third round, as Illinois State placed eighth overall in the strong tournament.
Jinyoung Yun was the top Redbird finisher, carding a three-round 217 (+1), which is tied for eighth – her fifth top-10 performance in eight tournaments this season. Her 217 marked the 13th-best tournament score in ISU history, and this season Yun now has four of the top-18 single-tournament marks in the history of Illinois State women's golf. Vinisha Gunaseelan tied for 30th over the 54 holes with a 233 (+7), while Ali Schrock's 225 (+9) saw her place in a tie of 38th. Avalon Woodward's 54-hole score of 226 was tied for 44th, with Dani Grace Schrock carding a 232 for a tie of 74th.
The Redbirds next travel to Richmond, Kentucky, on April 1-2 to compete at the Colonel Classic, hosted by Eastern Kentucky University, the final tournament before the MVC Championship on April 14-16 at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Illinois.
Tournament host Northern Arizona tied for the team title with an 881, while Grand Canyon finished third with an 883. Northern Illinois (884), Lipscomb (884), Weber State (885), and Cal State Fullerton (885) were the only other schools to finish ahead of Illinois State's 889. Idaho (892), Northern Colorado (894), Navy (899), North Dakota State (900), Missouri State (901), Wichita State (907), Montana (908), Cal State Northridge (910), Creighton (925), Southern Utah (928), Montana State (930), and Eastern Washington (940) rounded out the 20 schools in the tournament field.
Leading the day for the Redbirds on the final day was Gunaseelan, who had rounds of 75 and 73 to lead the 'Birds. Her second round – which was started on Saturday – opened with a birdie and was followed with 13 pars and four bogeys for the three-over 75. Her second round score – the team's lowest on the third round – was a one-over 73, as she had a trio of birdies over the final 18 holes with a dozen pars.
Yun had 15 pars in her second round, with just three bogeys en route to her finishing three shots over par. She came back strong in the final round, including a three-hole stretch in which she birdied all three holes. She had four birdies in total over her final round, with seven pars and seven bogeys.
Ali Schrock's second round had two birdies and 10 pars for her four-over 76 and came back in the final round with a birdie and 13 pars for the three-over 75.
Carding the team's best score of the second round, Avalon Woodward had a two-over 74 in the darkness-extended middle round with two birdies, three over-par scores and 13 pars. She added 13 more pars over her final round, with five over-par scores for the 79.
The younger of the Schrock sisters was tied for the fourth score on the team in the second round, as she had two birdies and 10 pars for the four-over 76 and came back with a five-over 77 which included three birdies and nine pars.
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