Thursday, March 3, 2011

UIS women's golf team hopes to pick up where it left off

At the college level, golf has a split season where teams play in the fall and spring.

The University of Illinois Springfield women’s team is hoping to pick up where it left off when the spring schedule opens Friday at the Lewis Shootout at Aguila in Phoenix, Ariz.

The Stars broke the school record for team score on back-to-back days last October at the UMSL Triton Invitational at Gateway Golf Links in Madison.

“We ended the fall on a fantastic note,” UIS women’s coach Nichole Inkel said. “We were beating teams in our conference.”

However, UIS doesn’t have quite the same look it had in the fall. One of the Stars’ top golfers, junior Mallorie Cummings, is academically ineligible.

Inkel admits the loss of Cummings struck a blow.

Sophomore Abby Vorreyer, freshman Caitlin Osborn and Cummings were UIS’ Nos. 1 and 2 golfers just a few months ago.

“At the end of the fall, Abby and Caitlyn had an 85 average,” Inkel said. “Mallorie had an 86 average. Kelsey Blake’s low round was an 89. If Abby, Paige (Luker) and Caitlyn can shoot around the 80 and 83 range, we’ll be just fine.”

Freshman Brittany Stout replaces Cummings in the lineup.

The team was featured in a March 2, 2011, article in The State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article