April 25, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -
Big Ten Championship Final Team Results 
Big Ten Championship Final Individual Results
On a final, rainy day at the Big Ten Championships, the Illinois women's golf team moved up one spot in the standings, finishing in ninth, only two strokes behind eighth place Michigan. Illinois had a fourth and final round of 311 to finish the tournament with a 72-hole total of 1230 on the par-72, 6,224-yard University Ridge Golf Course. Illinois' 1230 is the lowest 72-hole tournament total is program history, besting the Illini's score of 1236 at the 2003 Big Ten Championships.
"Once again, we had some big numbers today that did us in," said head coach Renee Slone. "Somewhere we are going to have to figure out a way to minimize the big mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen, but a player can recover from a bogey, it's far more difficult to get a double or a triple back. Hopefully over this summer we can have an epiphany here and find a cure."
Junior Raquel Hopton had her best finish at a Big Ten Championships, scoring a 78 on her final round to finish with a 72-hole total of 304, 16-over par and tied for 22nd.
"Raquel had another pretty solid day going," Slone said of her top finisher. "Through 12 holes she was in great position. She just made a couple of mental errors down the stretch that were costly."
Sophomore Hailey Koschmann finished two strokes off of Hopton with a 72-hole total of 306 after a final round 81 to finish 18-over par and tied for 28th. Sophomore Samantha Sloan had her best round of the tournament, shooting a 75 to end the tournament with a 72-hole total of 309, 21-over par and in a tie for 37th.
Sophomore Katelin Dilger shot a final round 77 to finish the tournament with a 72-hole total of 319, 31-over par and tied for 52nd. Rounding out the Orange and Blue are sophomores Kaitlyn Wampler, who had a final round 85 for a 72-hole total of 320, and Maureen Liddy, who shot a fourth round 81 and ended the tournament with a 72-hole total of 327.
"We'll look at this season as a whole," Slone said. "We certainly had some successes we enjoyed and we'll really key on why we were successful in those tournaments, what we were doing well and pinpointing the areas we need to improve upon."
No. 8 Purdue won its third-straight title after controlling the tournament from start to finish, ending with a 72-hole total of 1158, six-over par and 27 strokes ahead of runner-up No. 10 Michigan State (1185). No. 12 Ohio State (1189) placed third, Wisconsin (1194) finished fourth at its home course and Indiana (1205) ended the tournament in fifth.
Purdue's Laura Gonzalez (280) took medalist honors after an eight-under par performance, including scoring a 69 on the final day of the tournament.
Maureen Liddy was named Illinois' Sportsmanship Award winner.
The Big Ten Network will televise the Big Ten Women's Golf Championships in taped delay on Sunday, May 16 at 5 p.m. ET. Coverage will highlight Saturday's third round and Sunday's final round.
