Southern Illinois University
Saluki Invitational
Women's golf wins Saluki Invitational
03/27/2017 | 11:02:00 | Women's Golf
Brooke Cusumano finishes first
The Southern Illinois women's golf team won the 2017 Saluki Invitational on Sunday after tying the second-lowest tournament score in tournament history. The teams attempted to play a final round on Monday, but it was cancelled due to heavy rains.
Southern won the tournament by 22 strokes over conference foe Loyola, it was the largest margin of victory any team has had in more than 10 years. It was the sixth time in the last 10 years that SIU won its home tournament.
"I can't be much happier as a coach," head coach Alexis Mihelich said. "We had a really good game plan and we stuck to it."
Senior Brooke Cusumano won the tournament as an individual. She shot a 73 and 71 for a total score of 144, tying the third-lowest score in Saluki Invitational history.
"To win our home tournament has been my goal for four years," Cusumano said. "I've practiced hard for the weeks leading up to this. I'm thankful it shook out the way I wanted it to."
It was the third time a Saluki won a tournament this year. Cusumano won earlier this year at the Loyola Fall Invitational and senior Kristie Yang won the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate.
Four Salukis — Cusumano, Hanna Netisingha, Lili Klekner-Alt and Alice Ho all finished in the top-10 for SIU.
Southern's B team, led by freshman Lili Klekner-Alt, finished in fifth and was just four strokes out of third place. This is the third-straight year that Southern's A and B team finished in the top-five at the Slauki Invitational.
"The B team was great," Mihelich said. "They did really excellent. All four of them shot in the 70's in the second round. I couldn't have been happier it shows a lot of promise for next year after our three seniors graduate. We're going to be strong again net year."
The Salukis team score of 602 was the second-lowest in tournament history. It tied the lowest Saluki Invitational score at Hickory Ridge Golf Course.
This was Southern's third win of the season and the ninth top-five finish. The win provides momentum for SIU head into its conference tournament April 16-18.
"This win gives a confidence boost. They know that they can do it," Mihelich said. "We had a rough spring break. Everyone came back from it and played well this week. We just need to build off of it. Everyone likes to win. It shows our dedication."
The Salukis have at least one tournament left this season, the Missouri Valley Conference Championships at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Team Leader board
1 Southern Illinois 306 296 602 +26
2 Loyola 311 313 624 +48
3 Lipscomb University 318 313 631 +55
4 Austin Peay State 325 309 634 +58
5 Southern Illinois 'B' 326 309 635 +59
6 IUPUI 321 316 637 +61
T7 Chicago State 327 316 643 +67
T7 Rend Lake CC 322 321 643 +67
9 Fort Wayne 324 325 649 +73
10 Lindenwood Univer. 336 318 654 +78
11 Eastern Illinois 336 324 660 +84
12 Tennessee State 345 322 667 +91
13 John A. Logan CC 374 374 748 +172
Player Leaderboard
SIU A
1 Brooke Cusamano (1) 73 71 144
T7 Hanna Netisingha (2) 77 74 151
T7 Alice Ho (4) 75 76 151
11 Kristie Yang (5) 81 75 156
T12 Xianmei Jin (3) 81 77 158
SIU B
T7 Lilian Klekner-Alt (1) 78 73 151
T24 Erica Kerr (3) 82 79 161
T24 Sun Jung (4) 83 78 161
T28 Jackie Biggs (2) 83 79 162
Players Mentioned
