HERMITAGE, Tenn. – – The stretch run to the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championships begins Monday for the Ball State women’s golf team, when it opens play in the two-day Nashville Invitational hosted by Lipscomb March 23-24.
 
The 16-team event will take place at the Hermitage Golf Club on the General’s Retreat Golf Course. Action begins at 8 a.m. CT with a double shotgun start on holes one and 10. Teams will play the first two runs Monday and the final round Tuesday on the 72-par, 6,700-yard course.
 
Representing the Cardinals will be sophomore Sophie Korthuijs, senior Sarah Gallagher, senior Sabrina Langerak, junior JJ Gregston and senior Jasmine Driscoll. In addition, Skylar Dean will be completing as an individual.
 
The event will be a good test for the Ball State squad which is one of four top 150 teams in the field. The Cardinals currently rank 139th in the national rankings according to SCOREBOARD Powered by clippd. Delaware is the top-ranked program at 111, followed by host Lipscomb (119) and Seattle (121).
 
NEWS & NOTES:
– Last time out, the Cardinals placed fourth among the eight-team field at the Puerto Rico Iguana Invite (March 3-5) hosted by Ball State on the Flamboyan Course at the Palmas Del Mar Golf Club … After a slow start, the team rebounded with two of its five lowest team rounds of the season with a -1 (287) second round and a +3 (291) third round … The -1 is Ball State’s second lowest of the season, while the +3 is the fifth lowest.
 
– Senior Sabrina Langerak led the charge over the final 36 holes, shooting -2 (70) in the second round, followed by a Ball State career-low -3 (69) in the third … Overall, the team turned in four rounds below par at the tournament, including an opening-round -1 (71) from junior JJ Gregston and a -1 (71) second round from senior Sarah Gallagher.
 
– So far this season, the Cardinals have turned in 24 total rounds at or below par … Sabrina Langerak and sophomore Sophie Korthuijs lead the way with six apiece, while Sarah Gallagher is not far behind with five.
 
 – Ball State closed the fall portion of its 2025-26 season by setting a trio of program records at the 2025 Diamante Intercollegiate, starting with the lowest round in program history at -6 (282) in the event’s opening round … Up next was the record for lowest score through 36 holes in an event at -2 (574) … Ball State finished the trifecta with the lowest 54-hole score in program history at -2 (862) … It was the first time in program history the Cardinals have finished a 54-hole tournament under par, with the previous best being +1 (865) set at the 2023 Diamante Intercollegiate.
 
– Over the first seven tournament of the 2025-26 season, the Ball State women’s golf team owns a 298.57 stroke average which is on pace to shatter the current program record of 301.66 shot by the Cardinals over the course of the 2024-25 season … The team’s lowest round of the year is a program-record score of -6 (282) set in the opening round of the Diamante Intercollegiate (Oct. 19) … So far this season, 15 of BSU’s 21 rounds have been played under last season’s record-setting stroke average.
 
– Sarah Gallagher collected her first collegiate tournament victory thanks to 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 116 career rounds, she currently owns a 76.02 average which tops current record holder Kiah Parrott’s (2020-24) average of 76.06 … Driscoll’s mark includes 20 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 Ball State player aiming for the stroke record, as senior Sarah Gallagher is not far behind with her 76.04 career stroke average currently also ahead of Kiah Parrott’s (2020-24) mark … Gallagher has played 113 career rounds, with 14 coming in at-or-below par … Junior JJ Gregston has moved up to fifth with a 76.79 career average, including a 75.33 mark this season … Also in the top 10 among BSU’s active players who have reached the minimum of 48 career rounds is senior Sabrina Langerak in 10th at 77.57, just passing classmate Madelin Boyd in 11th at 77.66.
 
Ball State’s Current Top 10 Scoring Average List (Minimum 48 rounds):
1. Jasmine Driscoll, 2022-Current, 116 rounds, 8818 strokes, 76.02 average
2.  Sarah Gallagher, 2022-Current, 113 rounds, 8593 strokes, 76.04 average
3. Kiah Parrott, 2020-24, 64 rounds, 4868 strokes, 76.06 average
4. Brittany Kelly, 2007-11, 125 rounds, 9557 strokes, 76.46 average
5. JJ Gregston, 2023-Current, 77 rounds, 5913 strokes, 76.79 average
6. Manon Tounalom, 2016-20, 118 rounds, 9074 strokes, 76.90 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. Sabrina Langerak, 2023-Current, 60 rounds, 4654 strokes, 77.57 average
11. Madelin Boyd, 2022-Current, 91 rounds, 7067 strokes, 77.66 average
 
– Sophomore Sophie Korthuijs is also on pace to break into the top 10, with her career average of 75.37 over 41 rounds currently ahead Jasmine Driscoll’s mark … Last season, Korthuijs turned in the 11th-best single-season scoring average in program history at 76.05 and has started the 2025-26 campaign with a team-low 74.71 average … Her effort so far this season includes six rounds at or below par, already four more than she had during the 2024-25 campaign.
 
– The team turned in a solid start at the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 1-2) shooting its three lowest rounds ever on the Kampen-Cosler 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.