TERRE HAUTE — Missouri State was a unanimous pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship, the pollsters citing their experience with four upperclassmen. While experience is always a good thing, ironically their best round came from a freshman, enabling the Bears to narrowly win the hotly contested 54-hole team event at the Country Club of Terre Haute on Tuesday. Freshman Megan Thompson fired a 1-under par 71 in the final round — one of just two sub-par rounds in the tournament — to allow Missouri State to edge Illinois State by three strokes, 910 to 913. How hotly contested? The top five teams were all within eight strokes of the championship. Northern Iowa (916) and Southern Illinois (916) tied for third place, with Bradley taking fifth place (918). Indiana State enjoyed its best round of the tournament with 310, but finished a distant seventh with a team tally of 943. “There was nothing disappointing about this week, our young girls got a lot of experience,” ISU coach Greg Towne assessed. “The three upperclassmen were good role models … they showed some mettle. “I didn’t really feel they were going to be able to win this year. But next year’s going to be the same kids with that much more experience. I feel pretty good about it. We’ll just keep the program on the upswing and take it from there.” Illinois State’s Katie Jean claimed the individual championship by two strokes over SIU’s Cassie Rushing, 220 to 222. Jean’s finished off her final round with a flair, a chip shot stopping within a very few inches of the cup on the 18th hole, bringing a loud cheer from the crowd. SIU’s Alisha Matthews recorded the best round of the tournament, a 5-under par 67 in the final round, to charge into a third-place finish with 223. First-round leader Katie Tabbert (UNI) faded to a 13-place tie, while last year’s medalist, Illinois State’s Brianna Cooper, finished 12th. Jean, Rushing and Indiana State sophomore McCall Christopher played in the same threesome on the final day. Christopher, admittedly motivated by the great play of her counterparts in the threesome, paced the Sycamores with a 3-over par 75. It was her best round of the tournament and finished in a 13th-place tie with 231. “That’s good experience for her to be in that group where the winner’s coming from,” Towne noted. “It keeps you focused.” “[Jean and Rushing] played really well,” Christopher said. “There was no giving in today, you had to stay up with them. It was fun. It’s always fun to play with really good girls and plus the girls I played with were awesome. “No controversy,” she added with a laugh. “Sometimes it can be that way with girls golf, but they made it easy.” Christopher was disappointed the Sycamores didn’t fare better as a team, but is optimistic for the future. “A little bit [disappointed],” Christopher said. “But we’re young, have a lot of young girls coming back next year. I don’t count us out then. “[Christopher’s] only 18-years-old, she’s a sophomore and a young one … basically her and [freshmen] Gina [Della Camera] and Amanda [Smith] are all the same age,” Towne said. “We’ve got three young girls there. “Emily’s [junior Dixon] going to spend some time here this summer and so is Christina [Beyerl, a junior]. They’re going to do some training on their own. I think they’ve decided to take golf serious. We’re going to have a good team next year.” Towne was realistic of his team’s placement in this year’s tournament, but is confident they will improve in the near future. He also feels the overall strength of the Valley will be a key factor in that improvement. “The Valley’s significantly better and that’s what I like,” Towne noted. “I want a strong conference, because you usually play to level of your competition. We’re trying to upgrade our schedule, play harder teams, play tougher venues for next year. “If the Valley keeps going this way, we’ll be able to sneak in an at-large bid for the NCAA. That’s all good for everybody.” Towne was elated with how well the tournament unfolded at the CCTH course, saying not a discouraging word could be found for the venue. “I want to thank the [Country] Club,” Towne said. “It’s a significant sacrifice to give up your place and I know a lot of the guys would’ve liked to be playing. “From top to bottom, all the coaches said this was the best greens they played on in a good, long time. The consummate pro with Jeff [Sheets] and his crew out here. They took good care of everybody.” MVC Women’s Golf Championships At Country Club of Terre Haute Tuesday Third round Final team standings Missouri State (300-313-297 910) — Kelsey Welber 75-76-76 227, Megan Thompson 79-77-71 227, Catherine Dolan 74-80-75 229, Emma Clegg 74-80-75 229, Hermine Greyling 77-81-79 237. Illinois State (305-314-294 913) — Katie Jean 74-74-72 220, Brianna Cooper 76-80-74 230, Rachel Powers 77-83-72 232, Jordyn Wyzgowski 78-81-76 235, Hannah Bachman 81-79-76 236. Northern Iowa (299-311-306 916) — Brittany Atterbury 75-76-73 224, Blair Bonner 77-78-76 231, Katie Tabbert 72-79-80 231, Sarah Boss 76-7877 231, Alex Zenor 76-83-81 240. Southern Illinois (313-307-296 916) — Cassie Rushing 75-73-74 222, Alisha Matthews 82-74-67 223, Ashleigh Rushing 76-81-77 234, Shaina Rennegarbe 80-79-78 237, Margaret Gilley 84-89-78 251. Bradley (305-307-306 918) — Thea Hedemann 73-74-79 226, Christie Lin 78-76-74 228, Cassandra Marschall 79-79-74 232, Kelly Amundrud 79-78-79 236, Erin Gorman 75-79-85 239. Wichita State (311-322-300 933) — Gretchen Huhnerkoch 77-75-74 226, Hollie Weatherburn 77-76-78 231, Hannah Martin 80-84-74 238, Natalie Samb 88-87-77 252, Daniela Rugeles 77-DQ-75 152. Indiana State (313-320-310 943) — McCall Christopher 77-79-75 231, Christina Beyerl 84-75-77 236, Emily Dixon 75-84-79 238, Amanda Smith 82-82-79 243, Gina Della Camera 79-84-81 244. Drake (323-341-317 981) — Chelsey Falk 81-82-78 241, Danielle Brooks 81-84-77 242, Paige Menze 84-86-87 257, Christy Wittmer 88-89-91 268, Hadley Jennings 77-DQ-75 152) Evansville (327-330-326 983) — Sydney Skiles 81-80-79 240, Alyssa Key 79-88-79 246, Lauren Ellerman 81-83-85 249, Cathy Doyle 86-83-83 252, Dana Hayden 93-84-94 271. Creighton (337-337-318 992) — Mary Cathryn Rau 81-79-80 240, Rachel Thompson 81-88-77 246, Celeste Gassman 86-88-79 253, Katie Morel 89-87-82 258, J.Stuckenschneider 90-83-88 261. Top 20 Individuals Final 220 — Jean (Illinois State) 74-74-72 222 — C.Rushing (Southern Illinois) 75-73-74 223 — Matthews (Southern Illinois) 82-74-67 224 — Atterbury (Northern Iowa) 75-76-73 226 — Hedemann (Bradley) 73-74-79, Huhnerkoch (Wichita State) 77-75-74 227 — Thompson (Missouri State) 79-77-71, Welber (Missouri State) 75-76-76 228 — Lin (Bradley) 78-76-74 229 — Clegg (Missouri State) 74-80-75, Dolan (Missouri State) 74-80-75 230 — Cooper (Illinois State) 76-80-74 231 — Boss (Northern Iowa) 76-78-77, Bonner (Northern Iowa) 77-78-76, Weatherburn (Wichita State) 77-76-78, Christopher (Indiana State) 77-79-75, Tabbert (Northern Iowa) 72-79-80 232 — Marschall (Bradley) 79-79-74, Powers (Illinois State) 77-83-72 234 — A.Rushing (Southern Illinois) 76-81-77
Indiana State University
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza A Redbird finishes first: The teammates of Illinois State's Katie Jean celebrate her final putt and first-place finish as an individual during the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the Country Club of Terre Haute.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Thinking it through: Indiana State University golfer McCall Christopher contemplates the 18th hole with coach Greg Towne at the Country Club of Terre Haute during the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship on Tuesday.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza 18th shake: Indiana State's McCall Christopher shakes hands with Southern Illinois' Carrie Rushing after they finished their final hole in the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the Country Club of Terre Haute.
Discussion
- Indiana State University
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Etherington, Moore happy to be with ISU basketball
Not even two weeks into their college experience, Indiana State freshmen men’s basketball players Alex Etherington and Demetrius Moore stood sentinel as 115 kids ran around them collecting basketballs and getting autographs at the Greg Lansing Basketball Camp on Thursday.
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ISU's Johnson invited to World University Games
Indiana State senior Felisha Johnson will be traveling the world this summer after being named to represent the United States in the women’s shot put at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: Close, but no cigar, theme for ISU sports in 2012-13
When I covered my first event of Indiana State’s 2012-13 season — ISU’s opening football game at Indiana — I was the first one in the press box at IU’s Memorial Stadium. I’m never the first one in the press box.
Maybe the prospect of ISU’s season had me so pumped that I decided to get it started close to three hours early? (Or more truthfully, maybe I was over-vigilent about predicted traffic horrors on the Indiana 46 bypass that never came to pass.) -
Q&A: ISU football coach Mike Sanford ready for fall
It’s hard to believe, but Mike Sanford has already been Indiana State’s football coach for six months.
Time flies, but Sanford’s task of preparing for his first season in charge of the Sycamores comes with few breaks. -
Rex streak ends at 7
The Terre Haute Rex table setters — Kyle Kempf and Tyler Wampler — had three of the team’s eight hits Friday at Bob Warn Field, but the Rex offense found itself in a big early deficit for the first time this season.
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Manaea’s selection puts ISU in spotlight
Once the stress and hang-wringing over where Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea might get drafted was over, the angst subsided and was replaced with a happier emotion. Pride.
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ISU’s Hope places 13th in NCAA pole vault
Indiana State senior Nicole Hope concluded her final competition of the 2013 outdoor season on Friday as she tied for 13th in the women’s pole vault at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
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Metro roundup: Former Sycamores take talents to CFL
Former Indiana State players Johnny Towalid and Justin Hilton were signed by teams in the Canadian Football League this week.
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Exit Minnesota, enter Oregon State on 2016 football schedule
When the Big Ten Conference implemented a nine-game football schedule starting in 2016 and discouraged members from playing Football Championship Subdivision teams, there was one game on Indiana State’s future schedule that was likely on borrowed time.
ISU’s scheduled game at Minnesota in 2016. -
ISU's Manaea selected 34th overall by Royals
Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea selected 34th overall by the Kansas City Royals.
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ISU's Manaea is mystery man of MLB Draft
There is no consensus as to where Manaea might be drafted. Some experts still have him being chosen among the top 20 picks. Some don’t have him being picked in the first round at all.
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ISU's Johnson, Wise compete at NCAA nationals
Indiana State's Felisha Johnson and Katie Wise competed at the NCAA Track an Field Nationals at the University of Oregon.
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Sycamores ready for more NCAA track success
Five of the six Indiana State athletes in Eugene, Ore., already have had some memorable track and field careers for the Sycamores.
But they’ll go ahead and try to add to their list of accomplishments in the NCAA outdoor championships this weekend.
Dustin Betz has been a scorer and key piece of eight Missouri Valley Conference championship teams between track and cross country. He’ll compete today in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as the Sycamores’ second best in the event behind Jordan Fife. -
Mike Lucas joins ISU football staff
What traits do head football coaches seek out when they hire position coaches?
Indiana State football coach Mike Sanford provided insight into that question as he hired former Southeast Louisiana head coach Mike Lucas to his staff Tuesday. Lucas will be the Sycamores’ defensive line coach.
“You have to look at your staff and see what you need. I felt like in this particular case, I wanted an experienced defensive line coach. I feel like we have a mixture of experience and youth and I want to keep that going,” Sanford said. -
Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
Indiana State’s baseball was out of pitching, and after a loss to Wichita State on Thursday, the Sycamores were out of second-chances too at the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament. What the Sycamores weren’t out of was heart, guts and clutch performances from some unlikely sources. But in the end, Friday’s elimination game rematch against the Shockers was a sampling of ISU’s season overall — the Sycamores were out of luck.
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Four Indiana State athletes advance to NCAA outdoor track and field championships
Three Indiana State seniors and a freshman have punched their tickets to the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in two weeks at Eugene, Ore., with their Friday efforts in the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary at Aggie Stadium on the campus of North Carolina A&T.
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. -
ISU sending largest group yet to postseason
On the heels of their thrilling double victory at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships both the Indiana State men and women moved up in the national rankings which were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
Robby Ort celebrated his Indiana State baseball Senior Day on Saturday by becoming the Sycamores’ all-time leader in RBIs as ISU ended its regular season with a 16-7 win over Bradley at Bob Warn Field.
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
ISU couldn’t do it. -
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
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Behind 16 hits and Manaea's pitching, ISU beats Bradley
Indiana State’s baseball team rode a wild ride of emotion on Thursday.
First came the public announcement that Bob Warn Field would host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Later, Sean Manaea’s availability to pitch ISU’s series opener against Bradley was in doubt. -
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
If you had to pick one word that would describe the 2013 Indiana State baseball season, it would have to be frustration.
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ISU baseball team builds on success with 14-2 rout
Indiana State’s baseball victory over Alcorn State on Friday would take on more meaning Saturday if the Sycamores could build momentum and pick up on the good work they did in Friday’s ninth-inning rally.
Mission accomplished.
The Sycamores were aggressive from the opening inning at the plate and starting pitcher Devin Moore gave them eight valuable and effective innings on the mound as ISU defeated Alcorn State 14-2 at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a really good experience for everybody. It felt great to finally come out here and put some things together. It’s also really nice when your offense puts a lot of runs on the board,” Moore said.
Moore’s eight innings of work were as valuable as gold to an ISU team that is short on quality arms due to injury and ineffectiveness. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and one of the two runs he conceded was unearned. -
ISU earns badly-needed win
Alcorn State’s baseball team might be ranked in the bottom 10 in RPI and Indiana State might have never lost to a Southwestern Athletic Conference team. So it wouldn’t appear that a quality win was in the offing when Alcorn State visited Bob Warn Field on Friday.
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ISU’s Mascari and Hope win MVC track & field titles
Indiana State produced two champions during the opening day of action in the Missouri Valley Conference track and field championships Friday at Drake. Freshman John Mascari, a Terre Haute native, won the men’s 10,000-meter race and Nicole Hope won the women’s pole vault for the second time in three seasons.
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ISU pole vault tradition continues with help from its author
Pole vault is track and field for the adrenaline junkie, Indiana State senior Nicole Hope proclaimed during a recent practice at Marks Field.
To catapult oneself about 14 feet into the air with a large $500 fiberglass pole on a daily basis is a risky endeavor.
“We have to be fearless. You can’t be afraid at all,” said Hope, who has also catapulted herself into the NCAA’s elite in the event, ranking 15th in the NCAA with her leap of 13-feet, 9 1/4. -
Lansing looking for more home games for next fall
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team is looking for a few good games.
Home games that is.
The Sycamores have filled in most of the blanks in their nonconference schedule, but as ever, ISU coach Greg Lansing would like to visit the friendly confines of Hulman Center a bit more often. -
ISU baseball gets back into rhythm with victory
Baseball is a rhythm game. With contests every day or five times a week in the case of many college programs, you have the chance to build on success or wallow in a slump.
Mother Nature took that rhythm away from Indiana State’s team last week. After a 7-1 loss to Indiana on April 24, ISU was supposed to play a three-game series at Tennessee-Martin, but it was wiped out by rain.
So the rhythm was disturbed, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.
ISU was in a five-game losing streak before its unintended vacation and the Sycamores made a move in the right direction Wednesday with a 7-0 win over DePauw at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a disappointing weekend. We went all the way down to Tennessee and didn’t get to play. We sat around in the hotel room. We came here and it was still raining. It was nice to get out and see some live pitching,” ISU center fielder Landon Curry said. - More Indiana State University Headlines
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