ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State golfer Ali Schrock has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year – the second time in her career she has earned the honor – as three others: Avalon Woodward, Jinyoung Yun, and Vinisha Gunaseelan; were named to one of three academic teams, as announced by the MVC on Thursday afternoon.
Woodward, Yun, and Schrock were each named to the nine-person Scholar-Athlete First Team, while Gunaseelan was named to the Honorable Mention squad.
Schrock also earned the honor after the 2021-22 season and she is one of two golfers in conference history to have been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year multiple times. Earlier this season she became just the third golfer in MVC history to earn two or more MVC Elite 17 honors, joining former Redbird Katie Jean on that prestigious list. The Pontiac, Illinois, native is also one of just four golfers in program history to have been named a MVC Scholar-Athlete three times in their career (along with Katie Jean, Stacey Miller and Samantha Richdale).
The graduate in her final season of eligibility, she was named CSC Academic All-America in both 2022 and 2023 and was the 2022 MVC Golfer of the Year. She has earned All-MVC honors in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team in 2022 and 2024. This past season she tied for first place individually at the 2024 MVC Championship. She has a scoring average of 73.897 on the season, the second-lowest season scoring average in program history and has two first-place finishes (tied for the fourth-most in a season in school history) and five top-10 finishes (tied for the 19th-most in a season in school history). She has had nine rounds where she was at or under par, which is tied for the third-most in a season in program history, and her career scoring average of 76.2 is the third lowest in women's golf history at Illinois State with one tournament (NCAA Regionals) remaining.
Woodward was also named to the Scholar-Athlete Team for the third time in her career, as the senior with a 3.97 grade point average in marketing, also earned the honor in 2022 and 2023. She was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team in 2022-23 and named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar list three times. She has a season scoring average of 75.241 this season, which is tied for the seventh lowest in Illinois State program history. Her career scoring average of 75.8 is the lowest in program history with one tournament (NCAA Regionals) remaining on the season. Her 69 at the Johnie Imes Invitational is tied for the eighth-lowest round in program history and her 218 at the Clash at Boulder Creek is tied for the 21st-best tournament score in program history. For her career she has seven 54-hole tournament scores at 220 or lower, including a 211 last season which stands tied for the third-best in program history, and was the school tournament record prior to this season. Her 68 from that same season was also tied for the program record prior to 2023-24.
Yun, the 2024 MVC Golfer of the Year was also named All-MVC and to the MVC All-Tournament Team following her third-place finish at the 2024 MVC Championship. Her season scoring average of 72.448 is the lowest in a season in program history, nearly a stroke and a half per round better than the previous record and is the lowest in a season in MVC history since 2001. She has carded 13 rounds at or under par this season, the most of any golfer in program history, while her seven top-10 finishes are tied for the fifth-most in a season in ISU women's golf history. She is the only player in program history to have a round under 68, and she has done it four times during this season. She has the two lowest tournament scoring totals in program history with a 204 and a 210, and three of the top five with a 214. Overall, seven of her nine 54-hole tournaments this year have been with an overall score of 220 or lower, and within the top-41 in program history.
Gunaseelan, a senior with a 3.68 GPA in business administration, has played in all 29 rounds this season with the Redbirds, and she has a 75.724 stroke per round average this season, which is the ninth lowest in Illinois State women's golf history. Her three rounds at or under par this season are tied for the 19th-most in a season in program history, and her career scoring average of 76.7 is the fourth lowest in program history with one tournament (NCAA Regionals) remaining on the season. In the 10 events during the year, she has placed inside of the top-30 seven times, including a season-best fourth-place finish at the Coyote Creek Classic in October, while her 216 at the Clash at Boulder Creek is tied for the 10th-lowest 54-hole tournament score in program history.
Next up for the Redbirds is the 2024 East Lansing Regional on May 6-8, as the Redbirds earned the honor to represent the Missouri Valley Conference after securing a 12-stroke win over the field at the 2024 MVC Championship held at Annbriar Golf Course on April 14-15.
This season the Redbirds have the lowest season scoring average in program history (296.5) – seven strokes better than the previous record – and have 33 rounds as a team this year at or under par, which is 11 more than the previous team school record. Five of the 10 lowest 54-hole tournament scores in program history came during this season, including opening the season with a then-record 866 at the Redbird Invitational, before topping that score by nine strokes a month and a half later with an 857 at The Clash of Boulder Creek.
The four lowest single-round scores in program history have come this season, including two rounds of 282 at the Clash of Boulder Creek. Individually, Yun has four rounds with a 67 this season, which are tied as the lowest rounds in program history. Her tournament score of 204 at the season-opening Redbird Invitational remains the school record, as her 210 at The Clash at Boulder Creek and Schrock's 211 at the Rio Verde Collegiate are the second and third-lowest tournament scores ever carded by a Redbird.
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