Women's Golf

Women's Golf Claims First Tournament of Season

September 7, 1998

Columbia, Mo. -- The University of Missouri women's golf team made first-year Head Coach TOM LOYD's debut a successful one, as the Tigers led from start to finish, as they claimed the 16-team 1998 Illinois State Redbird Classic, played Saturday and Sunday in Normal, Ill. The Tigers won the 36-hole tournament going away, with a team total of 605 (rounds of 302 and 303), a full 15 shots ahead of runner-up, and host, Illinois State, which was next at 620. It marked the third straight time that MU has claimed the Redbird Classic, following team titles in 1995 and 1996. Missouri didn't compete in the 1997 tournament.

Tiger sophomore AMELIA MOSES (76-73=149) was tied for medallist honors with Illinois State's Suzanne Walker (74-75=149) after 36 holes, but Walker won a four-hole sudden-death playoff to earn first place among individuals. Last year as a true freshman, Moses had three top-ten finishes, including her first collegiate title, and had seven top-20 finishes overall.

Next behind Moses was junior TOBI PROBST (77-74=151), who finished in third place, just two strokes off the pace. The third-place showing represented Probst's best-ever collegiate finish, besting a fifth-place outing at Purdue as a freshman. Probst finished 21st in the 1996 Redbird Classic, shooting rounds of 80-85-83.

Just one stroke back, in a tie for fourth place individually, was Tiger senior STEFANIE MITCHELL (74-78=152). Mitchell was in second place, just one shot off the lead after a first-round 74, but a final-round 78 (5-over par) dashed her hopes of winning her fourth collegiate event. Mitchell won the 1996 Redbird Classic, with a three-round total of 224 (75-74-75).

Sophomore newcomer JAMIE TUCKER (75-78=153) made her presence felt immediately, as she tied for sixth place, just four strokes back of first. Tucker transferred to Missouri after playing one season at Kansas, where she won one individual title.

Tiger senior LETITIA MOSES (80-78=158) was a little off her game, as she finished in a tie for 17th-place overall. Moses has won two tournaments in her MU career, including the 1995 Redbird Classic, when she claimed the title as a freshman, with a three-round total of 231 (74-77-80).

Rounding out the Tiger contingent was sophomore JILL ROSEN (81-79=160), who wasn't far back, finishing tied for 25th place overall. Rosen, a Springfield, Mo. native, made her first tournament appearance.

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