After a lackluster showing at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, the Braves’ women’s golf team quickly bounced back to win their first home tournament since 2015 at the Coyote Creek Classic.
As the tournament began on Oct. 7, the team stayed neck-and-neck with rival Illinois State. After the first round, the Braves were tied with the Redbirds for first place with a score of 299 (+9).
Senior Grace Aromando led the way for the team in the first round with a 70 (-2), the best 18-hole score the Braves saw throughout the tournament. Aromando’s round one success can be attributed to her excellent short game performance.
“It was a lot of putting,” Aromando said. “My short putting and pressure putting got me down to below par for sure.”
The second round showcased more of the same from both teams, with the Braves holding a narrow three-stroke lead on the Redbirds, 299 to 302.
The Braves’ top performer in the second round was freshman Jillian Cosler with a 73 (+1). In her first year, Cosler has already assumed a big role on the team.
“She came in with eyes wide open, she has asked a lot of good questions to the upperclassmen and learned a lot from them too,” head coach Halley Morell said. “The weight room too, she’s hitting it farther so I just think she has adapted well to our team culture and kind of what we are building.”
The Braves extended their lead over the Redbirds in the third round, carding a team score of 301 compared to the Redbirds’ 306. Aromando led the Braves again, shooting a 74 (+2) this time around. Sophomore Allison Pacocha shot a 75 (+3) which was followed by junior Maria Perakis and graduate student Mara Flaherty who both carded a 76 (+4).
The Braves took first place as a team with a score of 897, the only sub-900 score among the eight other competitors. Playing at Coyote Creek provided the Braves with the home course advantage, which proved to be beneficial.
“I think Coyote Creek is definitely a course where you have a home course advantage with the greens, with different shots on certain holes,” Morell said. “Just strategy wise we can see it when we play with other teams that don’t play our course very often. Some of the choices they make we question because we know the proper strategy to play.”
Illinois State took second place with a score of 905. The I-74 rivals were separated by just eight strokes throughout the whole tournament.
The Braves were well aware of the Redbirds’ presence behind them and wanted to take care of business against their rivals for the second time this season, as Bradley beat them out for first place in the Redbird Invitational back in September.
“It was known because we beat them on their turf and we wanted to beat them on our turf to give a message that we are different now, we have changed, we elevated skill just to send a message that we’ve improved and we can beat you anywhere,” Aromando said.
The three Braves that placed in the top 10 individually were Aromando (second), Perakis (sixth), and Cosler (seventh). Rounding out the team was Flaherty, who finished in 12th place and Pacocha, who finished in 17th. Freshman Brooke Deebs competed as an individual and finished in 27th place.
Winning the 2023 Coyote Creek Classic gives the Braves their first two-win semester since the 2015-2016 campaign and their 20th overall win as a program.
“This was more of a statement win,” Morell said. ”It was like ‘Hey this is our home course’ like we are comfortable winning, we know what it’s like to be in contention and to get it done.”
Next up for the women’s golf team is the Diamante Intercollegiate, the last tournament of the semester, from Oct. 22-24 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
