March 6, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's golf team is headed west to compete in the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Western Michigan at the par-72, 6,313 yard Rio Verde Country Club's Quail Run Course in Rio Verde, Ariz. The 18-team, 56-hole tournament will take place over three days, Friday-Sunday, Mar. 7-9.

The Redbirds are coming off a fourth-place tie at the Fighting Camel Spring Classic. Illinois State was led by sophomore Stacey Miller and junior co-captain Marci Hill, who each fired 78's on their way to finishing in a 12th place tie at the rain-shortened Camel Classic.

Illinois State will take six competitors to the event, with the top four scores being counted towards the team total. The other two scores will be counted individually.

The tournament field will also include three Missouri Valley foes as Bradley, Missouri State and Southern Illinois are also making trips to the desert. Other schools competing include: Arkansas-Little Rock, Ball State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Minnesota, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Ohio, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Xavier.

The tournament is broken down into three, 18-hole rounds, giving the tournament an LPGA tournament feel. The first 18-holes are scheduled for a 1 p.m. shotgun start on Friday, with 8 a.m. shotgun starts beginning each of the final two rounds.