WATERLOO, Iowa – Behind the top two individual golfers among the tournament field, the Illinois State women's golf team holds a seven-stroke lead through 36 holes at the 2024 MVC Championship, with the final round to be played tomorrow morning starting with tee times at 9:50 a.m.
Jinyoung Yun holds the individual lead through 36 holes with a one-under 143, while Ali Schrock is tied for second, two shots over par over the two rounds. Michaela Kverkova (tied for 18th), Avalon Woodward (tied for 22nd), and Vinisha Gunaseelan (tied for 29th) are all in the top half of the field of the event.
The Redbirds hold a seven-stroke lead after the first two rounds with a two-round 594 with rounds of 293 and 301. Among the schools chasing Illinois State include UIC (601), Belmont (605), Drake (607), Northern Iowa (612), Bradley (612), Missouri State (616), Indiana State (618), Southern Illinois (620), Murray State (620), Evansville (623), and Valparaiso (660).
The Redbirds will tee off tomorrow morning alongside UIC and Belmont, starting at 9:50 a.m. with Gunaseelan. Woodward (10:00 a.m.), Kverkova (10:10 a.m.), Schrock (10:20 a.m.), and Yun (10:30 a.m.) will follow behind off of the course's first hole.
Yun's day started with an even-par 72 over the first round, including a front nine in which she made the turn at two shots under par. Her back nine had a rough start with five pars and three bogeys over the first eight holes to push her to one over par; however, a birdie on her final hole of the round dropped her to even par through the first 18 holes. Her final 18 holes – which started on the third hole – started with two birdies, four pars and a bogey over her first seven holes. Her aggregate climbed briefly over par; however, a final seven holes in which she had five pars and two birdies dropped her to -1 on both the round and the day.
Schrock had back-to-back rounds of 73, each of which had 13 pars, two birdies and three bogeys. Each of her four birdies over the first two rounds came on four different holes, as her first round she birdied her first hole (the par-four second hole) and the par-three seventh hole, while in the afternoon round she birdied the par-four sixth hole and the par-five ninth hole.
Kverkova carded a two-round 152 and opened the day with a one-over 73. Opening the day on the par-five fifth hole, she used a balanced effort of 12 pars and three bogeys over her first 15 holes; however, she closed strong, ending the first round with two birdies and a par to finish one shot over par the first time around the course. Starting her back nine on the par-four sixth hole, she had 13 pars and five over-par scores over her final 18 holes, and head into the final round after a seven-over 79 over the final round.
Woodward opened the tournament with a birdie on the par-four third hole, and added another birdie on the course's 15th hole, as she added 10 pars and six bogeys over the first 18 holes for a four-over 76. Her second round had 14 pars and three over-par scores, finishing six strokes over par with a 78.
Senior Gunaseelan opened her tournament with a birdie on the par-three fourth hole and had two birdies among her first six holes. The six-hole hot start was quieted over the next five holes, as she had four over-par scores, pushing her to three shots over par. Her last seven holes of the first round had a birdie, five pars and a bogey, finishing with a three-over 75 on the first round. She started the second round strong with birdies on her first two holes and three of her first five; however, hit another rough stretch down the stretch, as she ended at nine shots over par for the round with an 81.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
