Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Jan Weaver Invitational
Salukis Shatter School Record, Surge to Season-Best Third Place
04/13/2026 | 12:12:00 | Women's Golf
The Salukis women's golf team delivered a record-breaking performance this weekend in Kentucky, surging to a third-place finish against a competitive field that included Murray State and Austin Peay.
Southern Illinois climbed two spots on the leaderboard during the final round, powered by the lowest team round in program history. The Salukis finished at 22-over par, marking their best team finish of the season.
Individually, Calli Smith led the way with a seventh-place finish, while Kayla Sayyalinh and Allie Santos tied for 12th. Elle Overstreet added a solid performance, finishing 27th, just ahead of Amelia Zingler in 28th.
Every Saluki golfer contributed one of their strongest showings of the season. Santos and Smith set the tone early, opening with rounds of 74 and 69, respectively. Smith even held the top spot on the individual leaderboard at one point and remained in contention throughout—if not for a tough second round, she may have claimed the individual title.
Smith and Sayyalinh each recorded rounds of 69, with Smith doing so twice. Those scores rank among the third-lowest rounds in program history. Smith finished at 2-over par overall, while Sayyalinh and Santos both finished at 6-over. Overstreet posted a 14-over finish, and Zingler followed closely at 15-over.
The performance serves as a strong final tune-up before the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, set to begin Sunday, April 19.
Head coach Sam Sambursky praised her team's resilience and commitment to growth.
"Proud of the grit and the way this group has trusted the process all year," Sambursky said. "Success didn't come overnight for this team. They bought in, and this is what growth looks like. Our course management has been great, and we are playing with the confidence it takes to break an 18-year-old school record. We are recommitting to the process this weekend before we tee it up for conference.
Players Mentioned
