Friday, February 10
Port St. Lucie, Fla
All Day
Southern Illinois University
at
Ball State Sunshine Invitational
Salukis in 2nd at Ball State Sunshine Invitational
02/10/2017 | 7:05:00 | Women's Golf
Results
The Salukis were in the mix all day during the opening round of the Ball State Sunshine Invitational and are currently in second place.
Southern put forth a strong team effort to outperform higher ranked teams from Lamar and Eastern Kentucky, but trails Toledo by six shots. The team posted team scores of 317 in the first round and 319 in the second. The Salukis have a 13 stroke cushion ahead of third place Lamar. Head coach Alexis Mihelich said the weather conditions wreaked havoc on the on the course
Southern led for most of the opening round and at one point had four players ranked in the top-10 on the individual leaderboard as well as two golfers tied for the individual lead. However, the Salukis did not score as well in the second round and lost their grip on the top spot of the leaderboard.
Seniors Kristie Yang and Brooke Cusumano both contributed to Southern's team score with strong and steady performances.
Yang, who won the last tournament Southern competed in in November, was Southern's most successful golfer. Yang shot a 78 in the first round. She started the second round with three bogeys in her first five holes but bounced back with 11 pars and a birdie to close out the round. Yang is tied for the individual lead with Lamar's Elodie Chaplet thanks to her great second round.
Yang moved into 12th at SIU with her 40th and 41st rounds in the 70's in her career passing Megan Tarrolly's mark of 40.
Cusumano had a slow start to her opening round. The senior started the day 6-over par through her first seven holes before settling in and posting scores of par or lower on all but one hole to finish the round. She closed out the first round in first place with a 75. She was not able to carry her momentum from the first round into the second. The senior from St. Louis carded several bogeys and double bogeys, but was able to rebound and finished her round with six straight pars. Cusumano finished the day tied for 7th.
The two other Missouri Valley Conference teams in the field are not fairing as well as Southern. Illinois State is in seventh place, 25 strokes behind SIU and Drake is in 10th, 41 strokes behind Southern.
Southern Illinois leads the field in Par 3 and Par 5 scoring. The team is averaging just over par in both categories. The Salukis also lead the field in pars with 95. Yang has the lowest stroke average on par 5's in the tournament. She is averaging 4.75 strokes per par five. Sophomore Sun Jung, who is playing as an individual, leads all players in the tournament with 6 birdies.
The final round of the Ball State Sunshine Invitational will be played tomorrow at St. Lucie Trail in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Individual Results
T1 Kristie Yang (2) 78 75 153
T7 Brooke Cusamano (1) 75 83 158
T15 Alice Ho (3) 82 80 162
T18 Hanna Netisingha (4) 82 81 163
T35 Xianmei Jin (5) 84 86 170
T41 Sun Jung (Ind.) 90 81 171
Team Standings
1 Toledo 316 314 630
2 Southern Illinois 317 319 636
3 Lamar 337 312 649
4 Eastern Kentucky 313 338 651
5 Ball State 329 329 658
6 McNeese State 325 334 659
7 Illinois State 332 329 661
8 Keiser University 334 335 669
9 IUPUI 340 335 675
10 Drake 349 328 677
11 Valparaiso 348 339 687
12 Lipscomb 347 356 703
The Salukis were in the mix all day during the opening round of the Ball State Sunshine Invitational and are currently in second place.
Southern put forth a strong team effort to outperform higher ranked teams from Lamar and Eastern Kentucky, but trails Toledo by six shots. The team posted team scores of 317 in the first round and 319 in the second. The Salukis have a 13 stroke cushion ahead of third place Lamar. Head coach Alexis Mihelich said the weather conditions wreaked havoc on the on the course
Southern led for most of the opening round and at one point had four players ranked in the top-10 on the individual leaderboard as well as two golfers tied for the individual lead. However, the Salukis did not score as well in the second round and lost their grip on the top spot of the leaderboard.
"We had some high numbers that killed us from being in first place," Mihelich said. "I know tomorrow we will recover and prevail."
Seniors Kristie Yang and Brooke Cusumano both contributed to Southern's team score with strong and steady performances.
Yang, who won the last tournament Southern competed in in November, was Southern's most successful golfer. Yang shot a 78 in the first round. She started the second round with three bogeys in her first five holes but bounced back with 11 pars and a birdie to close out the round. Yang is tied for the individual lead with Lamar's Elodie Chaplet thanks to her great second round.
Yang moved into 12th at SIU with her 40th and 41st rounds in the 70's in her career passing Megan Tarrolly's mark of 40.
Cusumano had a slow start to her opening round. The senior started the day 6-over par through her first seven holes before settling in and posting scores of par or lower on all but one hole to finish the round. She closed out the first round in first place with a 75. She was not able to carry her momentum from the first round into the second. The senior from St. Louis carded several bogeys and double bogeys, but was able to rebound and finished her round with six straight pars. Cusumano finished the day tied for 7th.
"We really needed Brooke to finish strong and she did just that," Mihelich said. "She's a real grinder and that's what I love about her game."
The two other Missouri Valley Conference teams in the field are not fairing as well as Southern. Illinois State is in seventh place, 25 strokes behind SIU and Drake is in 10th, 41 strokes behind Southern.
Southern Illinois leads the field in Par 3 and Par 5 scoring. The team is averaging just over par in both categories. The Salukis also lead the field in pars with 95. Yang has the lowest stroke average on par 5's in the tournament. She is averaging 4.75 strokes per par five. Sophomore Sun Jung, who is playing as an individual, leads all players in the tournament with 6 birdies.
The final round of the Ball State Sunshine Invitational will be played tomorrow at St. Lucie Trail in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Individual Results
T1 Kristie Yang (2) 78 75 153
T7 Brooke Cusamano (1) 75 83 158
T15 Alice Ho (3) 82 80 162
T18 Hanna Netisingha (4) 82 81 163
T35 Xianmei Jin (5) 84 86 170
T41 Sun Jung (Ind.) 90 81 171
Team Standings
1 Toledo 316 314 630
2 Southern Illinois 317 319 636
3 Lamar 337 312 649
4 Eastern Kentucky 313 338 651
5 Ball State 329 329 658
6 McNeese State 325 334 659
7 Illinois State 332 329 661
8 Keiser University 334 335 669
9 IUPUI 340 335 675
10 Drake 349 328 677
11 Valparaiso 348 339 687
12 Lipscomb 347 356 703
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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