Women's Golf Set For Red Raider Invitational

LUBBOCK, Texas - - Six rounds into the 2025-26 season and the Ball State women's golf team has yet to play a round above its program-record stroke average of 301.66 set last season.

The streak will be put to a big test starting Tuesday, however, when the Cardinals open play in the Red Raider Invitational hosted by Texas Tech at the Rawls Golf Course. The 6,815-yard, par-72 course was designed to resemble the features of a traditional links course with a strong emphasis on wide fairways and undulating terrain.

The course, which opened in 2003, was created for Texas Tech University and was designed by taking a flat cotton field on the high plains of the West Texas panhandle and creating an entire landscape from scratch. Renowned architect Tom Doak moved 1.3 million cubic yards of topsoil and shaped the earth to mimic the land east and south of Lubbock where the great plain suddenly starts falling into the valleys and canyons that lead to the Caprock region.

It will be a good challenge for a Ball State squad which is considered one of the Mid-American Conference's best driving teams, with three holes playing over 500 yards. The longest being the 594-yard, par-5 17th, which is followed by another lengthy tester in the 554-yard, par-5 18th.

After a practice round Monday afternoon, the teams will play 36 holes starting at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT Tuesday and the final round at 9:15 a.m. ET / 8:15 a.m. CT Wednesday. All three rounds will feature shotgun starts.

Battling the course for the Cardinals will be seniors Jasmine Driscoll, senior Sarah Gallagher, sophomore Sophie Korthuijs, senior Sabrina Langerak and junior JJ Gregston.

Along with the Cardinals, the 15-team field features three top 100 teams from a year ago in host Texas Tech (60), Abeline Christian (93) and Texas – San Antonio (96). Also competing are New Mexico, Sam Houston State, California Baptist, Central Arkansas, Texas – El Paso, James Madison, Texas – Arlington, Houston Christian, Texas – Rio Grande Valley, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Incarnate Word.

NEWS & NOTES:
- The Cardinals have excelled on par-5s so far this season, playing them at a combined -3 (4.98) over the first two tournaments … The effort includes two of the team's three eagles, with one each from Sabrina Langerak and Sarah Gallagher.

- Over the first two tournaments, Ball State owns a 296.00 stroke average … It is well ahead of the record 301.66 shot by the Cardinals over the course of the 2024-25 season … The team's lowest round so far this season is a 289 shot in the second round of the Brittany Kelly Classic (Sept. 15), while its highest is a 301 the following day in the final round of its home tournament.
- Senior Sarah Gallagher collected her first collegiate tournament victory, using a 22-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to earn individual medalist honors at the Brittany Kelly Classic (Sept. 15-16) … She opened the 54-hole event with the lowest round of her collegiate career, shooting a -3 (69) … She followed with an E (72) in the second round, before forcing a playoff with birdies on two of her final five holes and shooting +5 (77) in a tough final round for the field … Overall, she tied for the tournament lead on the par-5s with a -5 (4.44) average, while ranking third on the par-4s at +4 (4.11) … She also tied for the tournament lead with 11 birdies and was tied for 16th among the 50-golfer field with 32 pars.

- As a team, the Cardinals won the Brittany Kelly Classic for the third straight season and the seventh time in program history … It was also the fourth event win under fourth-year head coach Cameron Andry … Andry's other win came at the 2024 Lady Jaguar Invitational (April 13-14).

- The number keeps getting lower for senior Jasmine Driscoll who is on pace to finish her career with the lowest stroke average in program history … Over 101 career rounds, she currently owns a 75.83 average which tops current record holder Kiah Parrott's (2020-24) average of 76.06 … Driscoll's mark includes 18 rounds at-or-below par and two tournament wins, including the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championships (April 20-22).

- Driscoll is not the only active Cardinals aiming for the stroke record, as senior Sarah Gallagher is not far behind with her 76.13 career stroke average currently ranking third … Gallagher has played 98 career rounds, playing 12 at-or-below par … Junior JJ Gregston has moved up to sixth with a 77.08 career average, including a 75.50 mark this season … Also in the top 10 among BSU's active players who have reached the minimum of 48 career rounds is senior Madelin Boyd in 10th at 77.84.

Ball State's Current Top 10 Scoring Average List (Minimum 48 rounds):
1. Jasmine Driscoll, 2022-Current, 101 rounds, 7659 strokes, 75.83 average
2. Kiah Parrott, 2020-24, 64 rounds, 4868 strokes, 76.06 average
3. Sarah Gallagher, 2022-Current, 98 rounds, 7461 strokes, 76.13 average
4. Brittany Kelly, 2007-11, 125 rounds, 9557 strokes, 76.46 average
5. Manon Tounalom, 2016-20, 118 rounds, 9074 strokes, 76.90 average
6. JJ Gregston, 2023-Current, 65 rounds, 5010 strokes, 77.08 average
7. Jenna Hague, 2011-15, 116 rounds, 8958 strokes, 77.22 average
8. Allison Lindley, 2014-17, 92 rounds, 7116 strokes, 77.35 average
9. Liz Kim, 2017-22, 131 rounds, 10135 strokes, 77.37 average
10. Madelin Boyd, 2022-Current, 82 rounds, 6383 strokes, 77.84 average

- Sophomore Sophie Korthuijs is also on pace to break into the top 10, with her career average of 75.54 over 26 rounds currently ahead Jasmine Driscoll's mark … Last season, Korthuijs turned in the 11th-best single season scoring in program history at 76.05 and started the 2025-26 campaign with a score of +8 (224) at the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 1-2).

- The team turned in a solid start at the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 1-2) turning in its three lowest rounds ever on the Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana … Ball State started the season with a rounds of +11 (299), +8 (296) and +5 (293) to finish sixth among a highly talented field … The effort helped the Cardinals top a pair of NCAA Regional teams from a year ago, in Western Kentucky (+40; 904) and Georgia Southern (+42; 906).

- Ball State also picked up a head-to-head win over a current power conference program for the second straight season at the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 1-2), topping Iowa (+29; 893) … Prior to last season's head-to-head win over Wisconsin at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (April 12-13, 2025), Ball State had not topped a power conference school since the 2013-14 campaign.

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Players Mentioned

Madelin Boyd

Jasmine Driscoll

Sarah Gallagher

JJ Gregston

Sophie Korthuijs

Sabrina Langerak