After a disappointing ninth-place finish last week at the Windy City Collegiate Classic, the Illini bounced back at their own meet.
Illinois took fourth at the Illini Women’s Invitational at Medinah, its second-best finish of the season. The Illini posted scores of 277, 281, and 294 to total 852 (-12).
Rainy round three derails strong start
Senior Anna Ritter led the Illini while shooting 212 (-4). While this is an impressive shooting, she was on track for a much better finish.
After the first day of the tournament, Ritter was tied for third after shooting a career low 67 (-5) in round one. The senior dropped 12 places on the tournament’s final day after shooting a 74 (+2).
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Freshman Alexis Myers continued her stellar debut season, finishing second for the Illini and tied for 19th overall.
Similar to Ritter, Myers had a rough third round. The freshman entered day two tied for 11th after a career-best showing in round two before dropping eight spots. The rainy conditions Tuesday played a part in the team’s struggles.
“Since the first and second day had very different conditions, each day required different strengths of your game to be successful,” Ritter said to Illini Athletics. “It rained before and during the second round, so the fairways were a lot more receptive, which led to the course playing longer.”
Seniors Brielle Mapanao and Victoria Zheng continued the trend for Illinois. After Monday, each sat tied for 20th at 1 under par.
By the end of the tournament, Mapanao finished tied for 31st after shooting 215 (-1). Zheng finished tied for 37th and shot 216 (E).
Junior Erica Lee also had a very impressive first round, shooting 69 (-3), but finished the tournament tied for 58th, shooting a 222 (+6).
Despite the team enduring a tough day two, they still had a very strong tournament. The Illini fell only two places during round three and still managed their second-best finish of the young season.
UCF took the team title after shooting 32 under par. Knights sophomore Mila Jurine won the tournament outright with a dominant 204 (-12).
Next Up
The Illini have this next week off to practice and prepare for the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina, from Oct. 24 26.
