Sept. 16, 2013

Day 1 Results | Final Round Tee Times

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Coming off of a third place finish in last week's Ptarmigan Classic, the Illinois Women's Golf team kept momentum rolling Monday, finishing first as a team (+27) after the first two rounds of the Minnesota Invitational. Freshman Stephanie Miller led the Illini individually, shooting a +4, good for second overall.

"Today we played fairly solid in the morning," said Illinois head coach Renee Slone.  "In the afternoon we weren't quite as sharp but we finished strong. As a team we shot very well on holes 15-18 as we played them even par. We finished well and hopefully that will set a good tone, getting things off on the right foot tomorrow."

Freshman Emily Joers, redshirt-junior Sam Postillion and senior Ember Schuldt also had a strong showing for the Illini. Schuldt shot a +5 Monday, placing third individually and the second best Illini score. Joers, who was atop the individual standings after the first round, fell to +6 and tied for fourth overall, while Postillion is tied for 26th after shooting a +12.

Illinois leads Minnesota by five total strokes heading into the second and final day of the invitational, as they seek their first tournament win since February 2012. Furthermore, Stephanie Miller could make some additional noise for the Illini as she trails the tournament leader Jennifer Ha of Kent State by one stroke. 

"The message (going into tomorrow) is the same as it was last night," stated Slone. "We stay focused on ourselves, we make smart decisions and we are 100% committed. Each individual has their own goal for tomorrow and that remains the focus. We focus on the things that are within our control and the score will take care of itself."

The final round will be played Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. CT at Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minn. The live stats can be found at http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/team/static/team4593.html