Women’s golf wins Illini Spring Classic

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By Kyle Diller

In the April 6 edition of The Daily Illini, the photo on B8 accompanying the article “Women’s golf wins Illini Spring Classic” Illinois,’ identified the person to the right as Stephanie Mory. It should have identified her as Raquel Hopton. The Daily Illini regrets these errors.

The Illinois women’s golf team won the 31st annual Illini Spring Classic this weekend and was led by top individual performances.

After playing the first 18 holes on Friday, the Illini were in first place by two strokes with a score of 319. Senior Seul Ki Park was also in first individually with a two-stroke lead after Friday’s round of the tournament with a score of 76.

Illinois held on to its lead, winning by nine strokes with a score of 924. The University of Cincinnati and Southern Illinois University were joint runners-up, each with a score of 933. This victory marks the team’s 11th Illini Spring Classic victory in the tournament’s history.

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Illini win Spring Classic

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“This morning wasn’t that great of a round, but the girls responded very well and played great this afternoon,” head coach Renee Slone said in a press release. “We told the girls to keep their heads in the game after the first round, and they did just that.”

While the team hung on to its lead, Park finished in second after Bambee Dela Paz of Cincinnati surpassed her on Saturday, winning by one stroke with a score of 228.

Three Illini finished in the top five, with Park’s score of 229 leading the way. Senior Stephanie Mory tied for third with a score of 230 while freshman Raquel Hopton tied for fifth with 231.

“The girls were mentally tough today,” volunteer assistant coach Rick Slone said in a press release. “I was very proud of them for fighting adversity throughout the 36 holes today.”

The Illini’s next matchup will be at the 15-team Indiana Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, where Illinois will face eight members of the Big Ten, No. 6 Purdue, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State.

Park will look to take home top honors again after claiming first place individually at the Indiana Invitational last year, while the Illini will try to build off their strong start to the season. In last year’s Indiana Invitational, Illinois finished third.