Illinois finished the Big Ten women’s golf championship 34-over to place T-11. Senior Isabel Sy led the Illini with a 2-under performance, finishing T-7, her seventh top-10 finish of the season.
Playing in what could be her last Big Ten championship, Sy got out to a hot start. She quickly rose to first place after she birdied holes seven, eight and nine to finish the front nine. She tallied six total birdies and four bogeys to end round one 2-under and T-4.
The senior played well into the second round, racking up four more birdies to two bogeys, finishing the day 2-under. At the end of two rounds, Sy had a total score of 4-under and was in fifth place. Her third round was less efficient, dropping two strokes in a 2-over round. She finished the tournament at 2-under and T-7, ending another Big Ten championship with a top performance.
Overall, Illinois finished round three 12-over, falling from 10 to finish the tournament T-11, breaking its streak of consecutive top-10 finishes. The Illini couldn’t live up to last year’s performance in which they finished first behind individual champion Crystal Wang and fourth place Sy.
The Illini had a rough start in the first round, finding themselves in last place after the first few holes. However, after good performances from Sy and junior Lexanne Halama, they jumped to T-10 and finished the day 13-over.
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Round two was even better for the team, as they shot a 9-over score, ending the day T-11. Freshman Yurang Li turned things around after a 6-over first round, shooting 1-under on day two and helping raise the Illini to a 9-over finish for the day. However, after a good first round, Halama shot 9-over, falling from T-16 to T-62.
Li found her groove after a poor first round with a 1-under and 2-over in the second and third rounds. At the end of the round, Li was T-60 with a 6-over score. After day two, she rose to T-36, finishing day three at T-37.
Sophomore Anna Ritter, coming off a career-best finish, found herself having a rough weekend. She finished both the first and second rounds 8-over, dropping to T-78. However, after a 4-over third round, Ritter rose to T-72, finishing the tournament strong.
Illinois will move on to the NCAA regional round starting May 6 and attempt to earn a spot in the NCAA championships.
@Ben_some16
