
Top-20 Trio Leads Wolverines to Sixth at Illini Women's Invitational
10/7/2025 6:14:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Closing with a second straight sub-par team total, Michigan used a final-round 283 (-5) to climb three spots and finish tied for sixth with an 857 (-7) total at the Illini Women's Invitational, held at the prestigious Medinah Country Club.
» Using back-to-back career-low-tying rounds of 69 (-3), Mara Janess posted a career-best 54-hole total of 211 (-5) to lead the Wolverines for the second straight event, tying for 11th.
» Continuing her strong play, Vanessa Zhang collected her third straight top-20 finish as a career-best 212 (-4) total earned her a tie for 15th. After opening with a then-career-low 70 (-2), she bettered it in the final round with her first sub-70 score, a 69 (-3).
» Lauren Sung added her second sub-par 54-hole total of the fall, tying for 19th with a 213 (-3) performance.
Site: Medinah, Ill.
Tournament: Illini Women's Invitational
Course: Medinah Country Club (par 72, 6,166 yards)
U-M Team Standing: t-6th Place of 14 Teams (290-284-283/857, -7)
Top U-M Individual: Mara Janess, tie-11th (73-69-69/211, -5)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Oct. 17-19 -- at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
MEDINAH, Ill. -- With career-low totals from senior Mara Janess (211, -5) and freshman Vanessa Zhang (212, -4) leading a trio of top-20 Wolverines, the University of Michigan women's golf team closed with a 283 (-5) final-round total on Tuesday (Oct. 7) to post an 857 (-7) 54-hole tally and tie for sixth at the Illini Women's Invitational, held at the prestigious Medinah Country Club.
After pacing the Wolverines at the rain-shortened Canadian Collegiate Invitational, Janess continued her strong play by leading U-M for the second straight event, tying for 11th with a career-low 211 (-5) total at Medinah. Following an opening 73 (+1), she carded back-to-back career-low-tying 69s (-3) to record her new career-best 54-hole tally.
In her second collegiate start, Zhang delivered another career-best performance, tying for 15th with a career-low 212 (-4) total and her first sub-par 54-hole tally. After opening with a career-best 70 (-2) and following with a 73 (+1), she closed strong with a six-birdie 69 (-3) -- lowering her career-best round by one stroke from just a day earlier.
Senior Lauren Sung helped U-M place three Wolverines inside the top 20, tying for 19th with a 213 (-3) total -- her second sub-par 54-hole performance of the fall. Leading the Maize and Blue with an opening 70 (-2), she followed with an even-par 72 and closed with a 71 (-1).
Playing as an individual, sophomore Thomasine Bartholdson matched her career-low 54-hole total from the season-opening Wolverine Invitational, using rounds of 76, 71 and 73 to post a 220 total at Medinah.
With three of four fall events complete, the Wolverines will make their ninth trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the 2025 Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will be contested at the recently renovated Finley Golf Club on the University of North Carolina campus. Last season, U-M used top-20 finishes from Janess (t-15th, 216) and Sydney Sung (t-19th, 217) to post an eighth-place team finish with an 872 total.
Final Team Standings
 1. Central Florida  279-273-280 = 832 (-32)  2. SMU              291-277-282 = 850  3. Auburn           284-278-289 = 851  4. Illinois         277-281-294 = 852  5. Indiana          285-280-288 = 853  6. MICHIGAN         290-284-283 = 857    Alabama          291-286-280 = 857  8. LSU              288-280-290 = 858  9. Minnesota        291-283-291 = 865    Texas Tech       285-284-296 = 865    Charleston       284-287-294 = 865 12. Wisconsin        288-287-294 = 869 13. Augusta          292-293-298 = 883 14. San Jose State   295-294-301 = 890
Top Individuals
 1. Mila Jurine, UCF              70-68-66 = 204 (-12)  2. Balma Davalos, Auburn         67-68-72 = 207    Molly Smith, UCF              68-70-69 = 207    Elsa Svensson, LSU            70-69-68 = 207  5. Maddie May, Indiana           70-68-70 = 208  6. Molly Hardwick, Charleston    68-71-70 = 209  7. Tiffany Tsai, UCF             72-66-72 = 210    Isabella McCauley, Minnesota  71-68-71 = 210    Emily Odwin, SMU              72-71-67 = 210    Carys Fennessy, Charleston    69-68-73 = 210
Michigan Individuals
T11. Mara Janess            73-69-69 = 211 (-5) T15. Vanessa Zhang          70-73-69 = 212 (-4) T19. Lauren Sung            70-72-71 = 213 (-3) T57. Reese Ng               78-70-74 = 222 T72. Mimi Guo               77-74-76 = 227 T50. Thomasine Bartholdson  76-71-73 = 220* * played as individual