BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With three golfers inside of the top 20 at the Samford Intercollegiate, the Illinois State women's golf team finished with a final-round 301 – the lowest final-round score in the field, as the Redbirds placed fourth at the Tournament.
Jacksonville State won the team title with a three-round 892, as tournament host Samford finished second with a 903. UAB, with a 918, finished just ahead of Illinois State's 923. West Florida (924), North Alabama (947), Bellarmine (954), and Chattanooga (976) rounded out the eight schools in the tournament field.
Cynthia Lang was the first of two Redbirds to finish in the top 10, as she took seventh behind a final-round 77 (+6). She had a birdie and a dozen pars in her final round, and she ended with a 226, placing seventh. She averaged 4.21 on par 4's, tied for the fifth-best average in the tournament, and a 5.00 average on par-5's, tied for eighth. She also had 33 pars in the tournament, tied for the sixth-most.
Reagan Kennedy's final-round 74 was the lowest on the team, and she placed eighth overall with a 54-hole 227. Her final round had four birdies and eight pars, and her tournament averages of 3.25 on par 3's was tied for seventh, while her eight birdies over the tournament is tied for the fifth best.
Junior Alex Sparrow tied for the best score on the squad in the final round with a 74, and her 233 is tied for the 16th-best score in the tournament. She had two birdies and a dozen pars in her third round, and her scoring average of 3.17 on the par 3's throughout the tournament is tied for the fifth-best such average.
Cora Hirz finished with a five-over 76 in her final round with two birdies and 11 pars, and her 54-hole score of 237 put her at 26th, just outside of a top 25 finish. Xuan (Hazel) Gao ended with a third round 83, and her 54-hole score of 255 was 47th.
The round closes the door on the 2026 fall season, as the Redbirds next take to the course for competition on Monday, February 1 at the Battle at Brentwater in Montgomery, Texas.
