McLean County Times

The Illinois State women's golf team is in a strong position at the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championship in Waterloo, Illinois. With one round left to play, the team has extended its lead to 20 strokes, aiming to become the first school to secure back-to-back conference titles since 2017 and 2018.

Each golfer from the Redbirds is currently placed in the top 10, with Jinyoung Yun and Elise Fennell both tied for second place individually. In the second round, the team shot a 289, which is recognized as one of the third-lowest scores in MVC Championship history. This accomplishment gives Illinois State two of the five lowest single-round scores in the history of the conference championship.

The current team score of 579 puts them ahead of Southern Illinois and Drake, who both scored 599. Other teams in the pursuit include Bradley with 600, Missouri State with 602, Evansville with 606, Northern Iowa with 615, Murray State with 616, Belmont with 617, UIC with 619, Indiana State with 632, and Valparaiso with 648.

Lory Paradis, who is tied for 10th individually, marked a team-low 71 in the round with five birdies and nine pars. Yun and Fennell each shot even-par 72's. Yun finished with two birdies and 14 pars, while Fennell completed the round with three birdies and 12 pars.

Morgan Jones contributed a two-over round with 16 pars, tying for fifth place. Meanwhile, Jessica Jolly, tied for eighth after her second-round 76, made two birdies and 11 pars.

The Redbirds aim for their consecutive championship victory and third title in four years, beginning their final round tomorrow morning at 9:50 a.m. with Paradis teeing off first. Jolly, Jones, Fennell, and Yun will follow at ten-minute intervals.

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App provide further information on tickets, the Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, merchandise, photos, and more.

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