The University of Illinois Springfield women's golf program will have a representative at the upcoming NCAA Division II East Regional in Kansas City, Mo. Madison DeRousse earned an individual bid to the event earlier this week.
 
DeRousse is the first Prairie Star player to tee it up at regionals since 2019. UIS sent a team to the regionals every year from 2016-19. DeRousse will look to follow the team's success in 2019 when two players finished in the top-20, including Jennifer Queller who was 13^th. That finish was the best for a UIS golfer at a regional meet, and it sent Queller to the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
DeRousse led the Prairie Stars in every tournament this season but one. In 10 events, she had three top-three finishes, and was in the top-15 in seven of the ten tournaments. She was the runner-up at the Lewis Flyer Intercollegiate in the fall, as well as the Dan Salisbury Memorial this spring.
 
DeRousse has a scoring average of 79.71 for the season, a top-10 mark in UIS history. She has a 76.2 finish percentage, which ranks fourth at UIS. Her strengths are in the longer holes, including a 4.48 scoring average on par-fours, and a 5.30 average on par-fives. The latter average is sixth-best in the program's record book.
 
In the latest Golfstat analysis rankings, DeRousse is 49^th in the East Division with a +7.62 score versus par. Among her best performances this year was a 72 in the first round of the McKendree Bearcats Dual Gender, and a three-round score of 231 at that event.
 
NCAA Division II East Regional
The 2022 NCAA Division II East Regional will be held Monday through Wednesday at Shoal Creek Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo. The par-71 course has an average daily yardage of approximately 5,900 yards during this competition.
 
Fifteen teams and six individuals will be in action, with everyone playing 18 holes of golf over the three days. After 54 holes, the top five teams, as well as the top two individuals not on an advancing team, will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships. That event will take place on May 10-14 in Gainesville, Ga.