INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - With round one of the 2015 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships in the books, the Fighting Illini sit in ninth place after a team showing of 302 on Friday, April 24. Action in Indianapolis, Indiana, was postponed before it even began due to frost.
Chayanid Prapassarangkul leads the Illini after shooting an even 72 in the opening round at the Big Ten Championships. The freshman carded four birdies and is tied for ninth place individually entering the second day of competition.
Stephanie Miller came in at three-over par on day one of the championships to sit in a tie for 29th heading into Saturday's round. The Illini sophomore carded a pair of birdies in round one. Dana Gattone posted a 77 (+5) in her Big Ten Championships debut for the third-best Illinois contribution and a share of 44th. The fourth Fighting Illini team score contributor was Pimploy Thirati who came in at six-over (78). Thirati is currently tied for 52nd.
Also competing in the first round were Grace Park and Emily Joers. Park posted a 79 and shares 63rd place overnight, while Joers carded an 88.
Ohio State leads the field with a seven-under round of 281, while Northwestern is just three strokes out at 284. Michigan holds the third slot (291) with Purdue and Michigan State tied for fourth at 293. Wisconsin (295), Minnesota (298), Indiana (301), Illinois (302) and Penn State (303) round out the top-10 spots. Iowa (305), Nebraska (306), Maryland (307) and Rutgers (309) fill out the rest of the board.
Saturday's action has been moved up to commence at 6:30 a.m. CT in an attempt to get ahead of the expected inclement weather.
When asked what head coach Renee Slone thought the team would need in order to make a jump up the leaderboard, she responded, "We'll need confidence and trust in ourselves, along with patience given the potential for inclement weather. Additionally, we need to be mentally strong and start the day on a positive note."
As a reminder, the event will be aired as a delayed recording on May 6, at 6 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
