Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinois Women's Golf team is set to commence its 2024 season at the Green Wave Invite in Avondale, Louisiana. The tournament will take place over two days, starting Monday with teams playing 36 holes and concluding on Tuesday with an additional 18 holes.

First-year Head Coach Rory Weinfurther will debut with nine of the ten golfers from last year's roster returning. Morgan Gindler, Ella Overstreet, Pihla Pennanen, Kayla Sayyalinh, and Kylee Vaughan are scheduled to participate in the first tournament.

Kayla Sayyalinh led the Salukis at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships last season, placing 17th and being the only team member to shoot under 80 in all three rounds.

Pihla Pennanen is the team's sole freshman. Hailing from Kerava, Finland, she won the Global Junior Golf event in June with scores of 76-74-72 and finished sixth in the Finnish U21 Nationals. She ranked fourth in the Finnish Junior Amateur Rankings and holds a position of 2,794th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Monday's weather forecast predicts a high of 84 degrees with partly cloudy skies and potential scattered thunderstorms early afternoon. Tuesday's high is expected to be 80 degrees with a chance of rain and thunderstorms throughout the day.

For live scoring updates during the tournament, fans can follow along online.

Follow updates on Saluki Women's Golf via social media platforms: X (@SIU_WGolf), Facebook (@Saluki Women's Golf), and Instagram (@siu_wgolf).