Julie Hovland Director of Operations/ Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Julie Hovland Director of Operations/ Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
The Illinois women's golf team secured a tie for fourth place at the Briar's Creek Invitational in Johns Island, S.C., with a 54-hole team total of 873 (+9). The team's final round was completed with a score of 301 (+13).
Isabel Sy achieved co-champion status for the second consecutive tournament and marked her sixth straight Top 5 finish. Reflecting on her performance, Sy stated, "After playing this tournament for the past three years, I was confident I had the course knowledge I needed going into this year." She added, "I was able to capitalize on several birdie opportunities and make good putts. Today, I was able to push through all the way until the end and made my last putt to tie for the win."
Sy ended with a 2-over 74 in her final round. Her birdie on No. 18 ensured her position in a four-way tie at the top of the individual leaderboard. This achievement makes her the first Illinois golfer since Renee Slone in the 1992-93 season to win back-to-back individual medalist honors. Sy's performance included 12 birdies, second most among competitors, and a scoring average of 3.97 (-1) on par 4s.
"Another outstanding tournament for Isabel!" commented head coach Renee Slone. "She had a strong day one and made a lot of pars today. Her first birdie of the final round came on No. 18… what a way to cap off the round!"
Other notable performances from Illinois included Yurang Li tying for 25th place with a third-round score of 74 (+2), Erica Lee tying for 34th after shooting a round of 73 (+1), Lexanne Halama finishing in 44th place with an 82 (+10), and Anna Ritter tying for 53rd with an overall score of +8.
Sophia Sulkar, competing individually, finished in 90th place after her final round score of +5.
Michigan State claimed victory in the team category at four-under (860). Alongside Sy, Katie Lu and Brooke Biermann from Michigan State, as well as Lauren Olivares Leon from NC State shared individual honors.
The Fighting Illini are set to compete again starting March 29 at the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga.
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