April 10, 2004
Results
Urbana, Ill. -
Illini Spring Classic Final Results in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Saturday was an exciting day for the Illini women's golf program as play concluded at the annual Illini Spring Classic, held at the par 72, 5,842-yard Stone Creek Golf Club. Illinois, which began the day trailing first-round leader Illinois State by eight strokes, put together its best round of golf of the season and one of the finest in school history in nearly winning the title. The Illini shot a team score of 296 today to come within one stroke of winning the Classic, finishing with a 36-hole score of 603. Toledo won the 12-team tournament with a score of 602, while Bradley finished third at 605.
Illinois' round of 296 today was its best round of the year, shattering its previous low round - a 304 set back on Sept. 20 at the Mary Fossum Invitational in East Lansing, Mich.-by eight strokes. The 296 also ties the third lowest round in school history. Illinois' final score of 603 ranks as the second best 36-hole tournament score in school history.
Leading the way for the Illini was senior Michelle Carroll, who won the first individual title of her collegiate career. Carroll shot a 36-hole score of 1-over par 145 to capture medalist honors in the 63-player field. Carroll shot a career-best round of 1-under par 71 today, the lowest score of the year by an Illinois golfer. The Dublin, Ireland native had three birdies, 13 pars and just two bogeys en route to the 71. Carroll's total of 145 ties the second best 36-hole score ever by an Illini golfer, and was just one stroke off the school-record 144 set by Laurin Kanda at last year's Illini Spring Classic.
"I knew I was in contention for the title since I was tied for third after yesterday's round," Carroll said. "My approach was to just take it one hole at a time today, and I knew that if I played my game everything would take care of itself. I think the key to my round was consistency. I was driving the ball great and giving myself manageable putts. When I did run into trouble, I was able to get out of it with my putting. It was one of those days where I was relaxed throughout the round and it just felt easy."
Sophomore Megan Godfrey continued her stellar sophomore season with another sparkling performance. Godfrey shot a career-low round of 1-over par 73 today. That gave her a two-round total of 147, tying her for runner-up honors behind Carroll. The second-place finish is the highest of Godfrey's young Illini career and marks her fourth Top-10 finish this year.
Senior Marla Cox finished in a tie for 17th place with a score of 153, shooting a 76 today to go along with yesterday's 77. Also scoring for Illinois today was junior Megan O'Neal, the fourth Illini golfer to shoot a career-low round during the Illini Classic with her score of 4-over par 76.
"Our entire team played great this weekend," Carroll said. "Everybody stepped up and I'm proud of the way we competed. Hopefully this will be a great springboard towards our next two tournaments."
Illinois is back in action next weekend at the Lady Boilermaker Invitational, April 17-18, in West Lafayette, Ind.
