KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
CHICAGO, Ill. - The Indiana State women's golf team earned their first tournament championship since the 2009-2010 season with a balanced team effort as they captured the title of the inaugural Chicago State University Cougar Classic with a four shot victory over IUPUI and Valparaiso.
"The girls played good on a windy day," Greg Towne, Indiana State women's golf coach, said. "Emily (Dixon), Christina (Beyerl), and McCall (Christopher) all played really well and the other two girls just held on."
Dixon had a career best finish as she shot 74-77 in the two rounds of the CSU Cougar Classic to finish tied for second with a 151 total. The senior's previous best finish came at the Snowbird Intercollegiate as a freshman where she tied for fourth. She now has five top 10 finishes as a Sycamore.
Valparaiso' s Kelly Vaught had the round of the day as she fired a three-under 69 to take medalist honors with a 144 total. IUPUI's Jordan Woods, the first round co-leader, dropped back into a tie for second with Dixon after shooting a 78 in the second round.
"This was a great experience for the girls in this kind of environment where you have windy conditions and a good chance to lose a ball if you are not careful," Towne said. "We still have some work to do in the next couple of weeks but the local courses are coming back into shape with the recent rain and that will help us prepare for our next invitational."
The Sycamores were tied with IUPUI after the opening round of play as each school posted a round of 315. Indiana State followed that opening round with a 316 in today's second round for a 631 total which moved them past IUPUI in the team standings. The Jaguars posted a 320 today and finished at 635 for the tournament. Valparaiso started the day tied for sixth but had the team low round for the day of 314 to share second place with IUPUI.
Sophomore McCall Christopher recorded the fourth top 10 finish of her Indiana State career, backing up her 79 in the opening round with a 77 today for a 156 total to move into a tie for ninth. She started the day tied for 24th. Also making a move today was senior Christina Beyerl who moved up from a tie for 39th into 23rd with a round of 79 today. She shot an 82 in the first round.
Sophomore Gina Della Camera went 80-84 in the two rounds to finish with a 164 total and tied for 30th while sophomore Amanda Smith was 82-83 in her two rounds for a 165 total and tied for 36th. Also playing today was sophomore Erinn Sutton who was 80-85 in her two rounds for a 165 total and tied for 36th while sophomore Andrea Frankiewicz continued to drop her scores down as she went 88-84 in Chicago for a 172 total and a tie for 65th.
Cleveland State finished fourth in the team race (637) followed by Northern Illinois (638), Loyola (640), Chicago State (644), Texas-Pan American (649), Eastern Illinois (656), North Dakota (660), SIU Edwardsville (665), Lewis University (671), IPFW (673), Illinois-Chicago (676), and Wisconsin-Green Bay (684).
Northern Illinois' Allie Parthie and Eastern Illinois' Lauren Williams tied for fourth (154) with Texas-Pan American's Elena Arroyo, Northern Illinois' Jenny Niemiec, and SIUE's Molly Marcum tied for sixth (155). Sharing the ninth spot with Christopher at 156 were Chicago State's Brooke Melvin, Cleveland State's Shelly Ford, and IUPUI's Lauren Kuss.
Indiana State is off until Oct. 8 when they begin play in the Butler Invitational at Highland Country Club in Indianapolis.
