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May 8, 2008

Final Stats

AUSTIN, Texas - The 20th-seeded Illinois State women's golf team finished day one of the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in 19th place after firing a 25-over par 313 at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas Thursday. The Redbirds were led by junior Tiffany Hockensmith (76) and redshirt sophomore Marisa Milligan (77), who combined to shoot one-under par on the back nine of the 18-hole event.

Illinois State finished ahead of 20th-place Harvard (314) and Farleigh-Dickinson (354), and was edged out by 18th-place Washington by just one stroke (312). The Redbirds carded seven birdies on the day, including two apiece by Milligan and sophomore Laura Harris.

Unfortunately for the Redbirds, the day got off to a rough start, in an event taking place away from the golf course. The team vehicle, driven by head coach Darby Sligh, was struck by another car on the opposite side of the road. The other driver, who was attempting to turn left from a right-turn only lane, was ticketed for improper lane usage following the collision. While no major injuries were reported, Harris was bothered with minor pain in her wrist.

"It was certainly not a good way to start the day," said Sligh. "Thankfully, any injuries we suffered were minor, and everyone was OK. It affected us early in the round, however. We had a lot of adrenalin pumping, and there were a lot of tears. It's difficult to make three-foot putts on very slick greens when your hands are still shaking following an event like that.

"It took us a little while to get together mentally, but we did; it was a completely different team on the back nine. This team has so much heart, and it really showed today. We were plugging away all afternoon, and really ended up with some bright spots on an overall rough day."

Harris also shot 80, but fared much better on the back side, birdying two of the final four holes, while recording a double bogie six on the par-four 18th hole.

"Despite her wrist being in some pain, Laura had two really great birdies coming in," Sligh said. "Considering the circumstances, she had a very good round."

Hockensmith shot a solid four over par 76, nearly three strokes below her scoring average of 78.6. She carded pars in nine of the final 10 holes, but bogied the 18th to end her round.

First-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Stacey Miller came in with an eight-over-par 80. She played the first five holes of the back nine one-under par, but finished the round with three bogies and one double bogie in the final four holes.

Milligan was dialed in on the back nine, fighting off a cold start with seven pars and two birdies to record a final nine score of 34. Milligan started the front nine with two bogies and a double bogie, and also bogied the final two holes of the front side.

"That was just an unbelievable back nine by Marisa Milligan," said Sligh. "To shoot what she shot in the final nine holes was incredible." Sligh said that a team score below 300 is what the Redbirds set as a single-round goal heading into the regional, and will again be the goal in Friday's second-round.

"The good thing about it is that we didn't completely shoot ourselves out of this tournament despite our score of 313, which is not what we were looking for. We want to break 300, and we have an early tee time tomorrow, so we are hoping the greens not being as firm as they were today will play to our advantage."

Second round action gets underway Friday, with the Redbirds teeing off at 8:20 a.m. Live scoring will be available on both GoRedbirds.com and GolfStat.com.