Illinois Women's Golf Spring Summary
June 5, 2026 | Women's Golf
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —Illinois women's golf wrapped up the 2025-26 season on a strong note, finishing in seventh at the NCAA Stanford Regional, its best finish at a regional since 2019.
The Illini also earned their fourth top-five finish at the Big Ten Championships in the last five years, concluding the conference tournament in a tie for fifth out of 18 squads. At the event, senior Anna Ritter set a new Oakmont Country Club record during a historic opening round, carding a 65 (-5). Fellow veteran Brielle Mapanao earned her career-best finish, tying for ninth as the low scorer for Illinois.
Just prior to the postseason, Illinois picked up its second consecutive team title at the Boilermaker Spring Classic in West Lafayette, Indiana, carding a 870 (+6) to finish three strokes clear of host, Purdue. The Fighting Illini notched the only pair of team rounds at or under par across the event, and three individuals in Anna Ritter (4), Alexis Myers (T5), and Mapanao (10) finished inside the top ten.
For her efforts at the Boilermaker Spring Classic, Myers tallied her second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor of the season.
The Orange and Blue's strong run to close out the spring began at the Florida State Match Up. The Illini finished the tournament with a final round surge to help them finish fourth out of 12 teams, carding a 287 (-1), the best round of any team in the field.
Academically, the Fighting Illini posted one of the strongest years in program history, earning the Illinois Outstanding Team GPA Award at the 2026 Oskees. Also at the 2026 Oskees, sophomore Kylie Eaton, senior Victoria Zheng, and senior Brielle Mapanao were recognized as Outstanding Scholar-Athletes, for earning the highest grade-point averages in their respective classes.
In the spring, the team raised the bar once again, earning a 3.95 GPA, the best single semester in program history. Seven athletes earned an unblemished 4.0 GPA during the spring and all nine athletes achieved a 3.5 GPA or better.
