RIO VERDE, Ariz. – The Illinois State women's golf team is within striking distance of another top-three finish this season as the squad stands in third place of 21 teams at the 2025 WMU Rio Verde Invitational.
Jinyoung Yun had her second consecutive strong performance on the tournament by carding a three-under par 69 in the second round, and at -4 through 36 holes, she is in sole possession of second place in the individual standings with 18 holes remaining in the tournament.
Xavier sits atop the leaderboard with an even-par 576, while Cal Baptist is three strokes behind with a 579, with ISU chasing the pair with their 583. Kennesaw State (590) and Ball State (597) – also within the top five – are among a large pack chasing the Redbirds for a top-three finish. Central Michigan (599), Utah Tech (599), Wichita State (602), Akron (604), CSU Northridge (604), Creighton (604), Ohio (608), Bradley (610), Oakland (611), Butler (614), Missouri State (614), Western Michigan (614), Loyola (615), South Dakota (616), Bowling Green (623), and Western Michigan "B" (643) round out the 21 schools in the field.
Yun had an up-and-down round, as she opened her day with a pair of bogeys over her first three holes, before pushing herself back to under par by the 10th hole. A bogey on her 11th set the stage for a late-round push, as she had birdies on three of her last five holes to finish with the three-under 69 for the round.
Morgan Jones – who is tied for fourth individually – finished her second round with a one-over 73 to put her at -1 for the 36 holes. Using a steady round, she had two birdies and 13 pars for her one-over performance.
Lory Paradis was the team's third finisher on the second day, using five birdies and seven pars for her three-over 75, and she is tied for 35th after two rounds. The team's two freshmen in the tournament, Elise Fennell and Jessica Jolly are each tied for 49th after the second round, as Fennell had a second-round 77 and Jolly an 81, as each have a nine-over 153 with a round to go.
The Redbirds take back to the course tomorrow morning alongside the co-leaders Xavier and Cal Baptist to close out the tournament.
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