RICHMOND, Ky. – Shooting a balanced first-day of 303 and 299, the Illinois State women's golf team heads into the final round in fourth place of 15 schools after the first two rounds of the Colonel Classic, hosted by Eastern Kentucky University.
Leading the way for ISU is senior Ali Schrock whose 36-hole score of 146 has her tied for second individually in the field. Jinyoung Yun's two-round score of 149 is tied for eighth, as Avalon Woodward is tied for 16th with a 151. Playing as an individual, Michaela Kverkova's 153 is tied for 26th overall, with Vinisha Gunaseelan (156) and Dani Grace Schrock (159) standing tied for 45th and 62nd, respectively.
Illinois State will close the tournament alongside Northern Illinois and MVC foe Belmont with a 7 a.m. (CT) shotgun start between the third and sixth holes on the course.
Morehead State is the first-day leader with a 36-hole score of 592, with only Bradley (600) and tournament host Eastern Kentucky (601) finishing ahead of ISU's 602. Northern Illinois (603), Belmont (603), Ball State (614), Western Michigan (614), Georgia State (617), IUPUI (617), Butler (618), Eastern Michigan (619), Bellarmine (626), Dayton (629), and Cleveland State (644) round out the 15 schools in the tournament field.
Ali Schrock had back-to-back rounds of 73 on the day, including an opening round of that saw five birdies, seven pars, and six bogeys – as she ended the round with three birdies and two pars to finish one shot over par. Making the turn she birdied her first hole of the day, and had three birdies, 11 pars and four bogeys for her second consecutive 73.
Yun started strong with two birdies over her first three holes, and with three birdies, four pars and two bogeys, she made the turn into the back nine at one stroke under par. She followed with seven pars and two bogeys over her back nine to finish with the 73. She shot a four-over 76 over her second round with a birdie and 12 pars and is closing in on her sixth top-10 performance this season.
Woodward had a slow start to her day with nine pars and five over-par scores over her first 15 holes of the tournament, before closing strong with a birdie and four pars over her final four holes to finish the opening round with a five-over 77. She carried her late momentum from the first round into a second-round-opening birdie, finishing her first nine holes of the second round at one shot over par. She was one shot over par over her second nine holes and finished with a two-over 74 in the second round.
Kverkova, opening her day on the course's 18th hole, and had a forgettable first seven holes, and was six shots over par through that span, before closing her round with back-to-back birdies and was even par over the final dozen holes to finish with a six-over 78. Her second round opened with a par, a bogey, and one of just two eagles in the field on the first day over the first three holes, before closing her final eight holes with three birdies, three pars, and two bogeys, ending the round with a three-over 75.
Gunaseelan had rounds of 80 and 76, with a combined total of two birdies and 20 pars, while Dani Grace Schrock carded scores of 80 and 79 with a birdie and 21 pars.
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