April 13, 2002
Final Stats
Urbana, Ill. - Illinois battled back in the final round to capture the Illini Spring Classic team title, making up a three-stroke deficit from day one to edge out the Southern Illinois Salukis by three shots. The annual Illini Spring Classic was held at the par 72, 6,276-yard Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Ill. Illinois was able to maintain its pace throughout the tournament, firing scores of 309 on both Friday and Saturday to take the crown in the 16-team tournament with a 36-hole final score of 618. Southern Illinois dropped to second with a 621, despite the individual performance of Alison Hiller who earned medalist honors at four-over par 148. Today's victory marks Illinois' first tournament title in four years, since winning the Illini Spring Classic in 1998.
"It's always special to have a win, but it's even more special when you do it at home in front of friends and family," Head Coach Paula Smith said. "We played consistent throughout the weekend and each golfer stepped up at different times, which was great to see. I'm very proud of them, it was a total team effort."
Highlighting Illinois' team performance today were juniors Renata Young and Laurin Kanda. Young carded consecutive rounds of 75, a six-over par performance good for a career-best individual finish of third place. Young's total score of 150 is the best 36-hole total of her career and also ranks as the eighth-best score in school history.
"We play this course throughout the year, I feel like I know it inside-out," Young said. "I just tried to concentrate and stay committed to every shot. When you do that, the score just follows. To play well on our home turf is something that our team was definitely focused on, and we're really excited about winning this tournament."
Kanda, meanwhile, shot a 75 in round one and followed it up with a score of 78 today. Kanda finished in fifth place at nine-over par (153). Illinois had a third golfer finish in the top 10 in sophomore Michelle Carroll. Carroll shot an opening round 80 and followed up today with a five-stroke drop to 75. Carroll finished in seventh place with her 11-over par, 155.
Illinois is off next week and is back in action in two weeks when it hosts the Big Ten Women's Championship at Stone Creek Golf Club April 26-28.
Final Team Scores
1. ILLINOIS 309-309=618
2. Southern Illinois 306-315=621
3. Arkansas State 314-316=630
4. Bradley 322-317=639
5. Illinois State 324-318=642
6. Western Michigan 328-315=643
7. Eastern Illinois 324-338=662
8. Southwest Missouri St. 337-326=663
9. Missouri-Kansas City 335-330=665
10. Cincinnati 340-328=668
11. Bowling Green State 330-341=671
12. Ferris State 343-343=686
13. Indianapolis 345-343=688
14. Northern Illinois 349-344=693
15. Grand Valley State 343-353=696
16. Truman State 367-354=721
Final Illinois Results 3. Renata Young 75-75=150 +6 5. Laurin Kanda 75-78=153 +9 7. Michelle Carroll 80-75=155 +11 T16. Stephanie Cheney (ind.) 79-81=160 +16 T21. Marla Cox 79-83=162 +18 T21. Carmel Sielicki 81-81=162 +18 T49. Mari Walters (ind.) 85-85=170 +26 T59. Megan O'Neal (ind.) 85-88=173 +29 T62. Lyndsey Milligan (ind.) 89-85=174 +30 T80. Johanna Ballard (ind.) 89-97=186 +42 T85. Carol Mayer (ind.) 93-99=192 +48
