Senior Isabel Sy will represent Illinois women’s golf to head to East Lansing for the NCAA D1 East Lansing Regional. The tournament, which starts on Monday, is made up of both full teams and individuals.
The teams will be the University of Southern California, Northwestern, Florida, Pepperdine, Michigan State, Kentucky, Denver, Oklahoma State, Indiana, Augusta, Illinois State and Oakland. Notre Dame, Louisville, Evansville, Western Kentucky and Illinois will have individual players competing in the tournament.
Sy is playing in her fourth NCAA regional event and has done better every year. In her first NCAA regional tournament, she shot 18-over and placed T-73. In her second, she shot 12-over and placed T-33. In her third and most recent NCAA regional tournament, she shot 10-over and once again placed T-33.
Sy is having the best season of her career. She has six top-5 finishes and nine top-20 finishes, as well as two co-champion honors in back-to-back tournaments. She was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and won a sportsmanship award at Illinois. She also took home three Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the Week awards this season, which is more than she has gotten in her first three years combined. In another accomplishment to her outstanding season, Sy recorded a new career-best 54-hole score, shooting 12-under at the Chevron Collegiate. She also recorded a new career-best finish at the Chevron Collegiate, placing T-1.
The California native is coming off a top-10 finish at the Big Ten championships in Maryland. She shot a 2-under through three rounds to finish T-7, adding another top-10 finish to her season. However, she is coming off a bit of a cold streak.
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After finishing T-1 at the Briar’s Creek Invitational, she shot 10-over at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic and 7-over at the T. Hession Buckeye Invitational. Those were her worst scores since the first week of competition at the Cougar Classic, where she shot 3-over and placed T-56.
The tournament will be played at the Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. It is a par 72 course and has hosted almost 20 men’s and women’s Big Ten championships over its history.
Illinois has never won a NCAA women’s golf championship, nor has it even been a runner-up. Sy has a chance to be the first-ever Illinois women’s golfer to do it. However, as an individual, it will be a much tougher task.
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