This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week include Belmont's Michael Senn and Murray State's Eliza Mae Kho.
MEN
Michael Senn (So., Bentonville, Ark.) tied for 6th in a field of 91 golfers at the Par 72, 6,870-yard layout on the Disney Palm Course at the Mickey Mouse Intercollegiate in Orlando, Fla. The field featured two Top 150 teams. Senn's three-round total of 70-71-74=215 yielded a sixth-place showing, which tied for his best finish as a Bruin. The 215 was a career best. It marked his first Top 10 finish of the season and his second Top 20 finish. Belmont finished fourth in the 16-team field.
Southern Illinois sophomore Braden Hoisington shot 1-under-par 71 to finish tied for 22nd at even par as the Southern Illinois men's golf team wrapped up play on Tuesday at the Bayou Collegiate Classic in Houston, Texas. The Salukis improved throughout the event at the Westwood Golf Club, carding rounds of 296, 295, and 291 to finish 11th overall with a total score of 882 (+18).
Led by Michael Ikejiani's 8th place finish, Evansville's men's golf team tied for second place at the ASU Spring Classic on Monday at RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill. Scoring a 755 for the 2 ½ rounds, the Purple Aces completed the tournament tied with Alabama State for second. Arkansas-Pine Bluff took top honors with a 742. Ikejiani finished round 2 with a 76 before carding a 40 in the final nine holes. He had a 188 total. His 72 in round one tied for the team's low score at the tournament.
WOMEN
Murray State' Eliza Mae Kho placed third at the Atlantic Invitational at Indiana River CC in Boynton Beach, Florida. Kho set her career-low round in the first round 3-under-par 68 and matched that again in the final round. Her score line was 68-79-68=206. Kho was part of the Racers program record, which featured a team 283 in the final round. The Racers’ next challenge will be in California (Feb. 27-28) at the Long Beach Invitational at Mission Viejo Country Club.
Three MVC teams (Drake, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso) competed at the Islander Classic, held at the par-72, 6112-yard Corpus Christi Country Club in Corpus Christi, Texas. Drake's Kristen Giles fired a team-low third round on Tuesday as the Drake women's golf team finished in eighth place with a combined team score of 963. Giles (81-78-75-234) fired a 75 in the final round to move up to sixth overall.
Southern Illinois finished tied for 10th. Senior Secilia Ho led the Salukis, shooting 241 (+25) to finish tied for 25th place. Valparaiso was led by sophomore Madison Keil (LaGrange, Ind. / Lakeland) as she carded an 83 to lead the Beacons on the event’s final day. Keil’s score helped her climb into the team lead for the three-round event with a 251, tied for 54th in a 79-player field.