This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week include Yang Tai of Indiana State, Caroline McConnell of Bradley, and Carter Stevenson of Bradley.



Yang Tai, Indiana State
Tai led the Sycamores in the Butler Fall Invitational, finishing in sixth place of 80-plus for the lowest finish by a Sycamore so far this year. Tai was the lowest MVC golfer in the tournament.  She recorded a score of +8 (218 on a par-70 course) highlighted by a round of -1 in the second round, only one of eight rounds by all golfers in the tournament under par. Her one-under second round is only the second time in her career she finished a round better than par. In her second round, she parred 15 holes and carded two birdies.  Indiana State and Belmont tied for seventh place out of 14 teams, while UIC followed the pair, eight strokes behind.

Caroline McConnell, Bradley
McConnell registered her third top-15 finish in as many tournaments at the Diane Thomason Invitational, hosted by the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa. The senior from South Fayette, Pa., fired an 11-over-par 227 to finish tied for 13th at Finkbine Golf Course. McConnell led Bradley to a tie for 10th out of 16 teams with a score of 930 (315-310-305), the best among MVC programs at the Thomason Invite.  Three other MVC programs were in the field (Drake, UNI, SIU).   Drake took 13th place, followed by UNI (15th) and SIU (16th).

Carter Stevenson, Bradley
One year after Stevenson placed tied for sixth at last year's SIUE tournament, the junior from Marquette Heights, Ill., improved both his score and finish, carding a 205 (71-68-66) and placing tied for fourth at the Dolenc Invitational, hosted by SIUE, in Madison, Ill. Stevenson's tournament score ties his career best and is the joint-second-lowest tournament score in program history. Stevenson's third-round score of 66 is also the lowest by a Brave this season and ties a career low. At Gateway National Golf Links, Stevenson holds a round score average of 68.67 strokes per round with six rounds under 70 out of nine. The Braves finished tied for ninth as a team with a team score of 848 (292-280-276), the second-lowest tournament score in program history. The team's third-round score of 276 is the lowest single-round score in program history.   Bradley was joined by Belmont (5th) and UNI (14th) in the event.

Elsewhere in men's golf, Jaeseung Na broke Southern's 18-hole record and led the team to program lows in 18, 36 and 54 holes in Southern's play at the Mark Simpson Invitational Tuesday in Erie, Colo.   Round one was nearly perfect for Southern Illinois, who shot 19 under (269), breaking a school record and putting themselves in second place. Additionally, Na shot a 64, which ties the program record for the lowest 18-hole round.  SIU ulimately tied for fourth as a team, while Anthony De Schutter was the top individual placer for the Salukis, shooting a minus-8 208.