IC's Milhiser Earns Top-30 Individual Finish At IWU Spring Tournament

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois College women's golf team traveled and participated in the two-day 2024 Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling tournament hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday and Sunday at Ironwood Golf Course. The Lady Blues opened the tournament with a team score of 343 which was followed up with a team score of 342 on the final day for a tournament score of 685. 

As a team, the Lady Blues collected 69 bogeys, 47 pars, 18 double-bogeys, and six birdies that earned a 16th place team finish. Katie Mae Milhiser led IC in both rounds with scores of 80 and 78 respectively. 

Day 1 Recap:

With a shotgun start, the Lady Blues started the opening round on the back nine portion of the course. Milhiser paced the team with a opening round score of 80 that included nine bogeys, eight pars, and a birdie on hole one. 

The Charleston native in Hannah Harpster recorded the second lowest round of the day with 12-over par score of 84. In her round, Harpster tallied nine pars, six bogeys, and three double-bogeys. 

The Normal, Illinois native in Alyvia Burr returned to her hometown and opened her tournament with a 15-over par score of 87. Burr started her round on the 16th hole where she shot 11-over on first nine holes. However, Burr eliminated seven strokes on the final nine holes that included four pars and a birdie on the par-3 13th hole. Rounding out the team score of 343 was sophomore Emily Guest with a round score of 92 that included six pars. 

As a team, IC recorded 30 pars, 27 bogeys, 11 double-bogeys, and two birdies.

Day 2 Recap:

The Lady Blues hit the course for the second day looking to improve from day one. The Springfield native in Milhiser led the team with a six-over par score of 78. Milhiser opened the round on the 10th hole with a par which was followed up with a birdie on hole 11. Milhiser then tallied six straight bogeys and parred the 18th hole for a five-over score of 41 on the first nine holes. On the final nine holes, Milhiser was locked in and recorded a one-over par score of 37 that included six pars, two bogeys, and a birdie on hole six. 

For the round, Milhiser recorded a total of eight pars, eight bogeys, a two birdies. With the combination of her opening round of 80 and a second round 78, Milhiser constructed a tournament score of 158 which finished in a tie for 28th overall. 

A Second-Team All-SLIAC selection from the 2021 season in Harpster fired a final round score of 89. In her round, Harpster recorded 10 bogeys, three double-bogeys, three pars, and a birdie on the par-3 13th hole. With the addition of her opening round of 84, Harpster formulated a tournament score of 173 which earned a 77th overall finish.

The junior in Burr recorded the second lowest score on day two with a score of 87. In her round, Burr recorded 12 bogeys, three pars, two double-bogeys and a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole. With the addition of her opening round of 87, Burr tallied a tournament score of 174 which granted a tie for 78th overall. 

The Nashville, Illinois native in Guest contributed to the second day team score of 342 with a five-stroke improvement round score of 88. In her final round, Guest tallied 12 bogeys, four pars, and two double-bogeys. By adding her opening round score of 92, Guest finished the tournament with a score of 180 which earned a tie for 89th-place overall.  

As a team, the Lady Blues collected a total of 42 bogeys, 17 pars, seven double-bogeys, and four birdies for the second round. 

The Lady Blues will travel to Millikin University and participate in the two-day Take Back the Night Tournament starting on Friday, April 19 with the opening round at noon at South Side Country Club of Decatur.