CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois women's golf is slated for the NCAA Stanford Regional, May 11-13, at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California.
LAST TIME OUT
At the 2026 Big Ten Championships, Illinois finished tied for fifth of 18 teams, its third top five finish in the last four years, carding an 873 (+33). Senior Brielle Mapanao was the team's low scorer, tying for ninth in her second consecutive career-best finish, after finishing tenth at the Boilermaker Spring Classic. Mapanao carded a 70 for par on the final day, one of just six golfers at or under par for the round, and her best round of the tournament. Fellow senior Anna Ritter carded an impressive 65 (-5) in round one to set a new Oakmont Country Club record for women's tournament low round. Ritter finished behind Mapanao in a tie for 20th place, and was recognized as the team's annual Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
ILLINI AT NCAA REGIONALS
Including 2026, the Fighting Illini have qualified for 12 NCAA Regionals across the program's history, with ten of those qualifications coming under current head coach Renee Slone. Most recently, in 2025, the team competed at the NCAA Columbus Regional, finishing ninth of 12 teams. Current golfers Anna Ritter, Brielle Mapanao, and Victoria Zheng all competed in Columbus. Ritter had the best finish of the three, tied for 32nd, after carding a 71 (-1) on the final day, her lowest career round during a regional.
The highest finish for an Illini squad at NCAA Regionals came during the 2018-2019 season in East Lansing, Michigan, when the team finished fifth to advance to the NCAA Championships, for the first time in program history. Kornkamol Sukaree, Tristyn Nowlin, Bing Singhsumalee, Crystal Wang, and Katie Hallinan comprised the 2019 lineup.
2026 will be the Orange and Blue's first NCAA Regional appearance in California.
THE COURSE AND FORMAT
One round of 18 holes will be played each day, with the best four individual rounds counting toward the team score. The Stanford Golf Course will play 6,267 yards with a par of 71. First designed by George C. Thomas and Billy Bell Jr. for a 1930 opening, the course underwent a renovation under John Harbottle in 2008. Most recently, all course bunkers were rebuilt in 2018. Stanford Golf Course has hosted many renowned events and golfers, including Tiger Woods, Mickey Wright, U.S Open Qualifying, and NCAA Championships.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
- Anna Ritter
- Brielle Mapanao
- Victoria Zheng
- Alexis Myers
- Erica Lee
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring will be available on Scoreboard by Clippd, with results and a recap available after each day of play on FightingIllini.com.
THE FIELD
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Stanford (Atlantic Coast Conference)
2. Pepperdine (West Coast Conference)
3. Vanderbilt
4. Arizona State
5. Missouri
6. Arizona
7. Cal State Fullerton
8. Illinois
9. Oregon State
10. Cal Poly (Big West Conference)
11. South Dakota State (The Summit League)
12. Navy (Patriot League)
Individuals (seeded in the following order):
1. Emma Bunch, New Mexico State
2. Leia Chung, Boise State (Mountain West Conference)
3. Kelsey Kim, Santa Clara
4. Adora Liu, California
5. Eva Pett, San Francisco
6. Madison Le, Long Beach State (Big West Conference)
Illinois and South Dakota State both competed at the Badger Invitational this fall, in which the Fighting Illini emerged victorious and the Jackrabbits finished 12th.
UP NEXT
The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional will advance to the national championships, to comprise a field of 30 teams and six individual golfers. The national championships will be played May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. Texas will host championship play, with the final three days televised live on GOLF Channel.
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