LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 10, 2023) – With windy conditions and frigid temperatures playing a factor on the golf course, the UIC women's golf program toughed out a hard-fought third place finish in the team standings at the Loyola Parkinson Invitational, held out at the Merit Club in Libertyville, Ill. Graduate student Dasa Urbankova (Brno, Czech Republic/Menlo College) finished tied for second in the individual standings after shooting a +9 (225) over the 54-hole invitational.
 
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ANGELA RAYHILL
 
"I'm super proud with how our program finished on the last day of competition at the Loyola Parkinson Invitational. They battled out on the course and never gave up. To tie for third in the invitational is an accomplishment and we look forward to continue getting better during the remainder of our fall season."
 
LOYOLA PARKINSON INVITATIONAL RECAP

• The weather proved to be difficult for 80 golfers competing at the two-day event. With temperatures sitting in the high 40's and low 50's along with strong winds and a fast green, none of the participants recorded a score lower than +6.
• Urbankova continued her strong fall season by shooting 71, 78 and 76 over the three rounds en route to finishing tied for second in the individual standings with a +9 (225).
• After shooting a 72 during her final round, Megan Tang (Memphis, Tenn./St. Mary's) jumped 12 places in the individual standings to finish tied for ninth.
• Brooke Beyer placed 19^th after shooting +19 (235) over 54 holes. Her best round came Monday when she shot a 74.
• Grace Szklarek (Granger, Ind./Penn) finished tied for 26^th while Lia Thomas tied for 42^nd at the Loyola Parkinson Invitational.
• Competing as individuals, Chaewon Jeong (Seoul, South Korea/Laurel Springs School) finished tied for 19^th with Beyer after shooting a +19 (235), while Ellie McDonald wrapped up the competition 74^th in the individual standings after hitting a +44 (260).
• UIC finished with a +54 (918) in the team standings to finish in third-place out of the 12-team field.

NEWS AND NOTES

• This was the third event in four competitions Urbankova has finished in the top three in the individual standings. The graduate student won individual titles at the Butler Fall Invitational and the Brittany Kelly Classic.
• Urbankova's first round score of 71 (-1) ties the school record for the fourth-lowest round versus par.
• The Loyola Parkinson Invitational was Tang's second top-ten finish this fall. The senior finished in third at the Butler Fall Invitational.
• By finishing tied for 19^th in the team standings, Jeong broke her personal record for best finish of her collegiate career.
• UIC's 54-hole score of 918 is the seventh-best score in program history.
• The Flames finished highest in the team standings out of the three Missouri Valley Conference teams competing at the event. UIC's team score of +54 was 48 strokes higher than Indiana State (+102) and 72 strokes higher than Valparaiso (+126).
• Urbankova, Tang, Beyer, Jeoung and Sklarek were the top-five individual finishers from MVC member schools competing at the event.
• UIC also finished highest among Chicago-area schools participating at the event as the program finished 37 strokes above host Loyola (+91)

UP NEXT

• The Flames wrap up their 2023 fall season next week at the Chippewa Invitational in Birmingham, Mich.
• The two-day event runs from Oct. 16-17 and will be held at the Birmingham Country Club. Central Michigan is the host institution.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES

• For more information on the UIC women's golf program, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WGOLF and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wgolf and @uicflames).