Women's golf heading to Texas for two tournaments

What? Bradley Spring Break Invitational
Where? Brookhaven Country Club, Dallas, Texas
When? March 13-14
Who's playing? (10 teams) Akron, Arkansas State, Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, UT-Dallas, Wichita State
Par 71, Yards 5,921
https://www.birdiefire.com/tournament/32226/

What? Lamar Challenge
Where? Beaumont Country Club, Beaumont, Texas
When? March 17-19
Who's playing? (9 teams) Bradley, Cleveland State, Detroit-Mercy, Fairleigh Dickinson, Indiana State, Lamar, Southern Illinois, Texas – Rio Grande Valley, Prairie View A&M
Par 71, Yards 6,005

The Saluki women's golf team will head to Texas during its spring break for two tournaments, the Bradley Spring Break Invitational and the Lamar Challenge.

Southern, which has finished in the top-five of seven of its eight tournaments this season, will face off against strong opponents and multiple Missouri Valley Conference teams during the road trip.

"We're looking forward to being able to play every day and focus on our golf in warmer weather," head coach Alexis Mihelich said. "It will be nice for the girls to get a break from classes after midterms and have some fun."

At the Bradley Spring Break Invitational, Southern will face off against five MVC teams including Wichita State, the defending conference champions. In addition to the Shockers, SIU will face off against two other higher-ranked in Northern Illinois and Akron.

The tournament hosted by Bradley will be a big event for all of the MVC teams. It will provide one of a small handful of chances for teams to see how they stack up against conference foes.

"This is the third biggest tournament of the year for us after the conference championship and the MVC Preview," Mihelich said. "We see the most Valley teams at this event, and the majority of the top Valley teams are at it except Missouri State. We've been preparing for this tournament for a few weeks. We want to be the top Valley team at the end of that tournament."

The course for the Bradley Spring Break Invitational is Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. The course will play at 5,921 yards and at a par of 71. Brookhaven was PGA Tour player Jordan Spieth's home course as a child.
After a brief break, the women's golf team will play in the Lamar Challenge in Beaumont, Texas.

Southern stacks up nicely against the competition at this event. Of the nine teams in the field, the Salukis are the second highest ranked team. Lamar, the host team, is the only team ranked higher than SIU. Southern has outperformed Lamar on two occasions this spring.

"This is a tournament that if we play well in, we can win," Mihelich said. "I'm expecting a high finish … Lamar is a pretty strong team. Even though we've beat them the last two times out, it is their home course. They're going to be the favorites."

Southern will not be the only MVC team at the Lamar Challenge. Bradley and Indiana State will make the trip from Dallas to Beaumont for the event.

Beaumont Country Club will be the site of the Lamar Challenge. The course is known for narrow fairways lined with tall pine trees. For the tournament, the course will play at 6,005 yards and a par of 71.

For the travel team, Mihelich will take seniors Brooke Cusumano, Kristie Yang and Xianmei Jin and two juniors, Alice Ho and Hanna Netisingha. An individual player will not travel to Texas for spring break.

"Playing two weeks ago in Texas will make them more comfortable," Mihelich said. "Whether or not the conditions are the same, it's a confidence booster. It will be similar temperatures and similar grass. They should know how the ball is going to roll and how the club will react when chipping."

The team will spend its off day in between tournaments in Houston. It will tour the Hosuton Space Center and go to an indoor rock-climbing gym before heading to Beaumont.

The Bradley Spring Break Invitational starts Monday and ends Tuesday. Live scoring for the event will be available on Birdiefire.com. The Lamar Challenge starts Friday and runs through Sunday. There is not live scoring available for the event.

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Brooke Cusumano

Alice Ho

Xianmei Jin

Hanna Netisingha

Kristie Yang

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