MACOMB, Ill. -- Senior Charlotte McGinnis became the sixth Bradley women's golfer to earn medalist honors, overtaking teammate Bari-Lynn Erais for individual honors as the duo helped lead the Braves to the team title at the Western Illinois Invitational Monday at the par-72 Harry Mussatto Golf Course in Macomb, Ill.
Bradley placed four individuals in the top 10 in the 60-person field, cruising to an 18-shot victory over second-place Northern Illinois. McGinnis and the Braves fired a final-round 313, three shots better than any other team's score and finished with a 44-over par 620. Northern Illinois was second at 638.
McGinnis tied for the low round of the day with a final round 75 to finish atop the individual leaderboard with a two-round total of 152, passing Erais, who entered Monday's final round of play with a three-shot lead on the field. Abbie Many of Northern Illinois entered the day in a three-way tie with McGinnis for third place but shot a 76 Monday to finish in second place, one shot back at 153.
Erais entered the day with a three-shot lead after firing a 73 during Sunday's opening round, but shot an 82 to slip into a tie for third place at 155. Juniors Whitney Cox and Rikki Sobel but carded 78's during the final round of play. Cox finished alone in seventh place, one shot back of a four-way tie for third place, while Sobel tied for eighth place at 157.
Bradley won the team title for the fourth time in the last six outings and has finished third or better in five of the last tournaments. Loyola finished third in the team standings, six shots behind second-place finisher Northern Illinois at 644. Tournament-host Western Illinois was one shot behind Loyola in fourth at 645, while IPFW was eight shots better during Monday's action and climbed into fifth place at 652.
IUPUI placed sixth at 657 and Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville finished seventh at 669, with Lewis University (8th - 726), Quincy (9th - 736) and Chicago State (10th - 786) rounding out the field, respectively.
McGinnis is now part of an exclusive group, joining Meaghan LeBlanc, Kelly Dillon, Jenna Cannon, Agnes Kim and Jil Swenson as the only players in program history to earn medalist honors.
Bradley returns to action Oct. 1 & 2 at the Huskie Invitational in Huntley, Ill.
