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Redbirds Finish NCAA Central Regional in 20th Place
May 10, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas - Junior and Bloomington, Ill., native Tiffany Hockensmith carded a team-best third-round total of a five-over par 77, highlighting the Illinois State women's golf team's final day in the 2008 NCAA Central Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas Saturday. The Redbirds finished the regional in 20th place, shooting a 34-over par 322 in the third and final round. ISU's three-round total was a 91-over par 955. "Today was another rough day for us," said head coach Darby Sligh. "We started out great, but we lost a little bit of our mental edge due to the heat. It was 100 degrees out here, and that really affected our scores. You had to be mentally locked in for the entire round, and if you made the slightest mistake on this golf course with the conditions we played in, it really hurts you." Despite the high scoring, Sligh was excited about what the Redbirds accomplished in 2007-08, and looked ahead to a bright future for the program. "The greatest thing about this team is that team accomplished the goals it set out to achieve," Sligh said. "For us to get this far with an extremely young team is pretty remarkable. We can take a lot of good things away from this season. There has been a lot of growth personally and on the golf course. "Everyone is very excited, because we have our entire team coming back next season, and we have people back home that are equally as talented, that didn't make this trip." The Redbirds, who recorded an 81-stroke improvement from Friday's second round, had six birdies on the day, with Hockensmith and Marisa Milligan (79) both shooting in the 70s. Milligan started the round off strong, carding an even par 36 on the front nine on the heels of two birdies and five pars. She was seven-over par (43) on the ensuing back nine, capped off by a triple bogie seven on the par-four 13th hole.
Hockensmith also started out strong with a one-over par 37 on the front nine. After bogying the first hole, she birdied the par-three second, and rolled off pars in six of the ensuing seven holes. She was nearly as steady on the back nine, carding five more pars. Laura Harris carded six pars in the opening nine, but double bogied the par-four fourth, pushing her front nine score to a four-over par 40. Her back nine round included four pars, but a double bogie on the par-four 18th gave her a third-round score of 82. Stacey Miller shot 41 on the front after bogying the third-thru-eighth holes. On the back nine, she carded two double bogies, along with four other bogies, dropping her score to a 12-over par 84. Illinois State's 20th place officially ended the Redbirds' 2007-08 season, as only the top-eight teams in each regional advance. The Redbirds recorded their ninth Missouri Valley Conference title to earn a berth in the NCAA Central Regional. |
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