PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley women's golf team will open the 2015-16 schedule in familiar territory, starting the fall slate at the Redbird Invitational in Normal, Ill., Sunday and Monday.
The Braves will be taking part in the Redbird Invite for the sixth consecutive year and have placed into the top seven in the field in each of the previous five trips to the par-72 Weibring Golf Course. The Redbird Invitational will provide an early indication of how Bradley stacks up in the Missouri Valley Conference with six other Valley squads joining the Braves in the 16-team field.
In addition to Valley rivals Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois, the field features in-state foes Northern Illinois and Western Illinois. A pair of Big East Conference opponents in Butler and Creighton are joined by three other Mid-American Conference squads (Ball State, Bowling Green and Ohio). Boston College and Oakland round out the field.
A link to live scoring for all three rounds will be available at BradleyBraves.com. Play is slated to tee off Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and will feature two rounds on the opening day. Monday's final round is also slated for an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Senior Danielle Lemek (Doniphan, Neb./Doniphan-Trumbull) has had a great deal of success at the Redbird Invitational, finishing in the top six in each of her three previous outings at Weibring Golf Course. The two-time MVC Golfer of the Year selection has improved her finish each of her three trips to the tournament and tied for second last fall. In nine career rounds at the Weibring Golf Course, Lemek owns an impressive 74.89 career stroke average.
The Braves have a balance of experience and youth on the roster in 2015-16, boasting three seniors and four freshmen to pair with three sophomores. Bradley has more than one senior on its roster for the first time since 2011-12 and the four newcomers are most on the roster since 2012-13.
Highlighting the returning players are seniors Jenna Roadley (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Sturgeon Heights) and Allison Walsh (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Mt. Prospect). An All-Valley performer last year, Roadley was second on the team last year with a 77.92 stroke average and she is three sub-80 rounds from breaking into the career top-10 in school history. Both Walsh and Roadley have played at the Redbird Invitational each of their first three seasons on The Hilltop.
Sophomore Ally Scaccia (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) posted the fifth lowest average a Bradley freshman last year at 77.93 and joined Lemek as the only Braves to play every event last year. Scaccia tied for 15th at the Redbird Invitational last fall in her collegiate debut.
Adding to Bradley's experienced depth are sophomores Grace Henderson (Peachtree Corners, Ga/Blessed Trinity) and Abby Wellens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy). Wellens played in 23 of 29 rounds last year, while Henderson saw a total of 18 rounds as a freshman.
Four freshmen will look to compete for spots in the Bradley lineup, with newcomers Chloe Horton (Coral Gables, Fla./Ransom Everglades), Frankie Saban (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), Sydney Shaw (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) and Brooke Thompson (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City) set to challenge Bradley's returning cast.
After opening the fall schedule in Normal, Ill., Bradley will play at the Diane Thomason Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa, Sept. 12 & 13.
