CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois Women’s Golf program announced the hiring of Rory Weinfurther as the new Head Coach, beginning in the 2024-25 season.

“Rory will bring a lot of enthusiasm and competitiveness to the program,” Director of Golf Justin Fetcho said. “She is a very accomplished player of her own and had the opportunity to compete multiple times in the NCAA postseason, so she knows what it takes to succeed at a high level.”

Weinfurther hails from Gallatin, Tenn., and is an alum of Richmond University, where she spent the past four years as one the top players in the school’s history. She ranks second in career scoring average (74.89), was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection, and a two-time All-State selection. She was a key piece of the 2023 Patriot League Championship team and was a 2021 Patriot League Individual Champion. She also posted 12 career top-10 finishes and 22 career top-20 finishes.

Fetcho’s teams have created a winning environment that Weinfurther looks to replicate for herself.

“It’s really inspiring and something to aspire to, setting our goals and having a little competition with the men’s team seeing who can win the most championships is always fun,” she said. “I think it’s a good motivator as well for the girls, just to see our men’s team do what they’ve done, we can do that too.”

Fetcho has complete confidence in Weinfurther’s abilities and sees this as a big step for the program.

“I know she is going to put high value on player development and being able to relate to the student-athletes from her past experiences will be extremely beneficial,” Fetcho said. “This is a great day for Saluki Golf and we are excited that Rory will be leading our Women’s Golf program.”

The Southern Illinois Women’s Golf team will tee off Monday, September 9, at the Green Wave Invite hosted by Tulane University.