Nov. 2, 2003

Miami, Fla. - Illinois shot its best round of the tournament today with a final-round score of 315 to finish in fifth place at the 26th annual Pat Bradley Championship. The Illini took fifth in the 13-team tournament with a 54-hole score of 960. Host Florida International won the event with a score of 941, beating runner-up Princeton (944) by three strokes.

Sophomore Megan Godfrey (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor HS) led the Illini during the weekend. She was Illinois' top finisher, tying for seventh place individually with a 17-over par score of 233. Godfrey shot the lowest round by the Illini each day with scores of 77-79-77. Godfrey's seventh place finish is the best of her young collegiate career and marks her second career Top 10 finish. It is also the highest finish by an Illini golfer from Illinois' five tournaments of the fall season. The previous best finish by a UI golfer this fall was ninth place by Godfrey at the Badger Invitational Sept. 6-8.

Seniors Michelle Carroll was Illinois' second finisher, recording her second Top 15 finish of the fall by tying for 14th place with a score of 240. Fellow senior Marla Cox tied for 21st place, three strokes behind Carroll with a 243.

Longwood's Stephanie Hicks and Florida Atlantic's Natalia Navarro both shot 8-over scores of 224 to lead the 70-player field. But Hicks captured medalist honors by defeating Navarro in a playoff.

This completes the 2003 fall season for the Illini. Illinois will open the 2004 spring season March 5-6 at the East/West Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona.

Pat Bradley Championship Final Team Standings

1.    Florida International   310-315-316=941
2.    Princeton               318-321-305=944
3.    Florida Southern        316-314-320=950
4.    Longwood                321-317-316=954
5.    ILLINOIS                318-327-315=960
T6.   Florida Atlantic        322-328-315=965
T6.   Bethune Cookman         324-333-308=965
8.    Alabama-Birmingham      328-323-320=971
9.    Xavier                  332-336-313=981
10.   Ball State              331-331-320=982
11.   Eastern Kentucky        334-328-332=994
12.   Barry                   343-339-361=1043
13.   Lynn                    368-354-339=1061

Final Illinois Results

T7.   Megan Godfrey            77-79-77=233     +17
T14.  Michelle Carroll         82-79-79=240     +24
T21.  Marla Cox                78-87-78=243     +27
T30.  Megan O'Neal             81-85-82=248     +32
T37.  Meghan Naik              85-84-81=250     +34
48.   Lyndsey Milligan (ind.)  86-89-80=255     +39