RIO VERDE, Ariz. – Behind the fifth-lowest tournament score in program history, the Illinois State women's golf team finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Rio Verde Invitational, including using a final-round 282 (-6), tied for the fourth-lowest single-round in school history.
Leading the way over the final 18 holes for the Redbirds was freshman Elise Fennell, who set the freshman school record for the lowest single-round by a first-year golfer in ISU history with a 68 (-4), climbing 34 spots in the individual standings over the final 18 holes of the tournament.
In what ended up being a three-team battle for the team championship, Cal Baptist edged out the Redbirds by one stroke, 864-to-865, with Xavier the next closest school with an 869. Kennesaw State (884), Ball State (893), Central Michigan (895), CSU Northridge (898), Wichita State (899), Utah Tech (901), Ohio (907), Akron (908), Oakland (910), Creighton (911), Missouri State (917), Butler (917), Bowling Green (917), Bradley (919), South Dakota (920), Loyola Chicago (921), Western Michigan (923), and Western Michigan "B" (966) close out the 21 teams in the tournament.
Jinyoung Yun was the team's top individual finisher, as her three-round 212 (-4) came from rounds of 71, 69, and 72 and had her finish second overall individually. Her final round had five birdies and eight pars, and the 212 is tied for the eighth-best tournament score in program history. Morgan Jones finished third overall with a 54-hole score of 214 after rounds of 70, 73, and 71. She was steady over her final round with 15 pars and two birdies, and the 214 is tied for the 12th-best tournament score in the history of the golf program.
Behind her final-round score of 68 – which is tied for the seventh-lowest score in school history – Fennell tied for 15th overall with a 221 (76-77-68), the 12th-lowest tournament score by a freshman in school history. She opened and closed her final round with bogeys, but in the 16 holes between that she was spectacular with six birdies and 10 pars. Lory Paradis finished with a final-round 71, and her tournament score of 222 had her with a top-20 finish as she tied for 19th. Freshman Jessica Jolly tied for 34th as she closed her tournament with an even-par 72, which saw her total a 225 for the 54 holes.
After some time off, the Redbirds return to action on Friday, March 14, when the team travels to Sedona, Arizona, to compete in the Red Rocks Invitational.
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