Salukis finish strong in rough weather

Salukis finish strong in rough weather

By Tyler Dixon

 

The SIU women’s golf team started its season at the Redbird Invitational in Normal during the weekend with senior Cassie Rushing finishing in a tie for seventh. Rushing has had 59 rounds in the 70s during her college career.

The Saluki team sent five players with a sixth qualifying as an individual. Seniors Cassie Rushing and Alexis Gatton qualified as part of the team along with sophomore Mattie Lindner. Freshmen Brooke Cusumano and Kristie Yang were the youngest members of the team. Fellow freshman Xianmei Jin represented SIU as an individual.

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Every SIU player shot 80 or below in the first round Sunday morning. Rushing led the Salukis with a 2-over-par score of 74. She also finished with nine birdies on day one of the invitational and a score of 147 (+3) after the second 18 holes of the day.

After the first day of competition, the leader, freshman Lily Bartell from Bowling Green State, was at 4 under-par.

Rushing said a few factors could attribute to the leaders not playing well. She said it could be their inexperience, or they were not used to playing in difficult weather.

“Some people do not know how to play in the wind,” Rushing said.

Coach Alexis Mihelich said her team played well and they had some very solid scores.

“We played consistent, the scores were really low,” Mihelich said.

Lindner improved her score from the first 18 holes by five strokes. She finished with an 80 in the first round, and a 75 in the second.

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“Our freshmen class is very strong and that makes me work harder,” Lindner said.

The Saluki team finished the first 36 holes with 16 birdies. Yang finished the first day with four birdies, Cusumano with two and Lindner with one.

SIU was in10th place after the first day of competition. The team shot a combined score of 621, which was 29 shots behind Toledo, the winner of the tournament. Rushing entered the final round in a tie for eighth.

The Salukis were able to gain ground on their opponents in the third round. They moved up two spots to finish the tournament in a tie for eighth with Evansville.

Only one player improved her score every round. Cusumano’s score went down by one stroke each round. She shot 80 after the first 18 holes, then 79 and ended with a 78. Cusumano said she did not play as well as she wanted and plans to improve her play.

Rushing trailed the leader by three shots with three holes to play, but bogeyed her final three holes and finished at 75 for the final round. Rushing said she is glad she made the top-10, but wished her scores could have been lower.

“Obviously I wish I played better,” Rushing said. “I know what I need to work on two weeks from now.”

The team will have a couple weeks to practice before its next tournament. The Salukis will travel to Manhattan, Kan., for the Kansas State Marilyn Smith Sunflower Invitational on Sept. 23 and 24.

Rushing said it is important to have every part of your game be solid and it all has to come together to have a good round.

“Keep everything sharp in your game, not just one aspect,” Rushing said. “Everything has to be working on that day.

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