KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After one day of play at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, the Fighting Illini sit in second place. The Orange and Blue posted scores of 282 (-2) and 278 (-6), respectively, in the first two rounds from Cherokee Country Club (Par 71, 5897 yards) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
"I thought the team's preparation the last few weeks has been solid," head coach Renee Slone said. "We felt like the confidence level was strong and so today was just a matter of letting all of our hard work, time and effort come out and enjoying the day. The energy level from everyone was fantastic."
Illinois was paced all day by senior Dana Gattone, who is currently tied for fourth overall with identical round scores of 69 (-2) for a four-under-par overall score. Senior Grace Park and freshman Ali Morallos are tied for 11th with total scores of 1-under par. Park carded a 69 (-2) in the first round and 72 (+1) in the second round, while Morallos shot a 73 (+2) in the first round and followed it up with a second round total of 68 (-3).Â
Junior Bing Singhsumalee finished the day in a tie for 15th, carding consecutive rounds of 71 (E). Sophomore Tristyn Nowlin recorded a 77 (+6) in round one, and a 70 (-1) in round two, scoring a +5 overall and currently in a tie for 35th.Â
Competing as an individual, senior Chayanid Prapassarangkul is currently tied for 11th overall, posting a first round score of 72 (+1) and a second round score of 69 (-2) to finish the day 141 (-1).
The 6-under par team score in the second round ties for the second lowest single-round in program history, matching last year's first round mark at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship.
"We will treat tomorrow the same as today," said Slone. "We will discuss a few things that we learned from today's rounds but as far as mindsets go, we will treat it the same and go all in."
The final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship will tee off at 8 a.m. CT on Tuesday with a shotgun start.
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