LEADERBOARD
MADISON, Wis. – The Illinois women's golf team earned its first tournament win of the season at the Badger Invitational, carding a 54-hole team total of 848 (-16). In just her second collegiate outing, freshman Alexis Myers secured the individual title after shooting a 207 (-9) from the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis.
Illinois carded team rounds of 286 (-2), 277 (-11), and 285 (-3) across the Badger Invitational - all of which either tied for or were the lowest across the 14-team field. The Orange and Blue went below par in every round of the event, marking the first tournament doing so since the 2023 Illini Invitational.
"I'm really proud of how our team performed and how I played individually," shared freshman Alexis Myers. "The greens were super fast, but I feel like I adjusted well after the first round. As a team, we focused on staying present and not getting ahead of ourselves, which made a big difference."
Prior to the Badger Invitational, the last time Illinois won a tournament and was below par in every round came at the 2017-18 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship.
Tuesday's team title marked the 38th tournament championship won by Illinois in program history and was the 17th under head coach Renee Slone.
As a team, Illinois led the field with 50 birdies, while adding a hole-in-one/eagle, and the third-most pars of the event, 181 total. The Orange and Blue led the field in par 4 and par 5 scoring, averaging 3.98 and 4.89 strokes, respectively.
All six Fighting Illini that competed in the event finished 19th or better on the player leader board. Myers led the way with a solo first place finish with Victoria Zheng (t-6th), Erica Lee (8th), and Tavia Burgess (t-10th, individual) all joining her in the top 10. Brielle Mapanao came in at t-17th and Anna Ritter rounded the team out in t-19th. All four Illini in the top-10 turned in even or below-bar tournament scores.
Myers continued her impressive streak of either improving or matching her previous score every round this season with back-to-back scores of 67 (-5) to secure the individual tournament crown. She shot 73-67-67 [207 (-9)] for the event, which ties her for the seventh-lowest 54-hole score in Illinois history. Myers tallied 14 birdies and 35 pars across the tournament.
A Northbrook, Ill., native, Myers' championship marked the 51st different tournament won by an Illini women's golf in program history. Myers is the 23rd different Illinois golfer to win a tournament.
Zheng carded consecutive sub-par rounds with a 71 (-1) on day three. The strong finish tied her for sixth overall on the player leader board. In round two, Zheng recorded a hole-in-one from 161 yards on a par 3. She turned in rounds of 73-67-71 [211 (-5)] across the event. The 67 from round two tied her career-low at Illini Women's Invitational at Medinah in 2024. This was Zheng's third tournament scoring below par at Illinois.
"The ultimate keys to success this week were having fun and staying grateful," said Zheng. "We put an emphasis on positive energy and body language, which translated into confidence and belief once we got into competition. We hit a lot of quality golf shots this week and gave ourselves a lot of birdie opportunities. This event shows what we're capable of, and we're excited to keep building on this momentum as we continue to improve."
Lee's career-low round one led her to a reading of 68-72-74 [214 (-2)] en route to an all-time best finish of eighth place. This was the fourth tournament of Lee's collegiate career scoring at or below par.
In her second tournament as an Illini, Burgess competed once again as an individual at the Badger Invitational and turned in a t-10th finish. The sophomore earned the best finish among all the players competing as individuals in the field. Burgess climbed five spots during the final round of action and turned in back-to-back rounds below par to close the event. She carded rounds of 75-71-70 [216 (E)].
Mapanao's +4 reading tied her for 17th on the player leader board, carding rounds of 72-75-73 [220 (+4)]. The senior climbed four spots during the final 18 holes.
Ritter rounded out the Illinois competitors with a +5 showing, tying for 19th place. She posted rounds of 76-71-74 [221 (+5)], rising two places on the last day of play.
Individually, Burgess led all competitors with a 2.73 scoring average on par 3s and a 4.60 mark on par 5s across the event. Myers ranked No. 3 in par 3 scoring averages (2.80), t-4th in par 4 averages (3.88), and t-4th for par 5 readings (4.80). Myers and Lee tied for second in the field and first among the Illini with 14 birdies at the Badger Invitational. Mapanao led the field and the Illini with 41 holes at par.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action on Sept. 29, when they head to Golf, Ill., to compete in the Windy City Collegiate Classic.
