Hello again Illini Nation,

The team has just arrived home from a whirlwind of a weekend, as we spent four days down in Arizona playing, practicing, and competing. There is a lot to catch you all up on, so that's where I come in!

On Friday, our team had the very special opportunity to spend the day in sunny Scottsdale at Desert Mountain thanks to our good friends Rick and Maisie Heiken. The entire staff at Desert Mountain was extremely welcoming and accommodating, and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch before playing nine holes with the Heikens at the Outlaw Course. After that, we spent a few hours practicing at the beautiful facility. It was great to have an extra day to practice and play outside in conditions similar to what we would expect to see in the tournament the next day.

We then headed a few miles up the road to Stu and Anita Broeren's home for a dinner party. The team had the chance to meet a number of supporters, many of whom are Illinois Alumni. The event provided a great platform to network with some local professionals from the prestigious Mirabel Golf Club nearby, and we enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them and their backgrounds in golf. To say the hospitality was great is truly an understatement; we were overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who made that event possible, as it truly provided for an experience unlike any other we have had before.

The team then headed back to Peoria to get some rest before our practice round on Saturday. We finished our practice round and hit the range and short game area for a while. Afterwards, we were happy to see Gary Peterson as well as other members of the Phoenix Illini Club who came out to see the team; it was great to see some familiar faces returning from last year as well as some new alumni we were introduced to.

Later that night, we were treated to yet another home-cooked meal, this time provided by our host families. Our hosts were generous enough to invite any family members that traveled to the tournament to join us. This was very special because it is likely the closest we will be to California throughout the regular season and therefore Pai's and Grace's families were able to make a short trip to come watch us play.  Pai's mom and brother drove out to watch the tournament and were able to join us at the dinner, where Pai's brother, Chino, showed off some of his magic and card tricks; he had the whole crowd wondering how he was pulling them off! Grace's parents were able to make the trip out to watch the tournament too, and we were all very excited to see them again!

Come Sunday, we were eager and excited to begin our first competitive rounds of the spring season. Jan, Grace, Steph, and I had all played this tournament last year, so we made it a point to utilize our course knowledge in preparing for this tournament. Westbrook is not a particularly long course, as most of us have wedges into a number of greens, especially the par 5's. Therefore, we made sure to really dial in our distances in the weeks leading up to the tournament. During the practice round, we focused on what positions were going to give us the best scoring opportunities, depending on each player's preferred approach yardages and angles. The greens at Westbrook tend to be quite firm, but aren't very fast, which is a combination we don't often come across. Personally, I think this took some adjustment as it became especially important to think through landing spots on every single shot whether it be a routine wedge shot or a longer approach shot. 

We had perfect weather with highs around 85 and just a slight breeze. This provided for some pretty ideal scoring conditions; conditions that many players took advantage of. As a result, scores for the tournament were relatively low. We were able to string together some solid rounds, at and under par. It was clear after day one how deep this field was, as the scores were packed in relatively tight, with only a couple of shots between fourth place and 11^th or 12^th place. Steph kicked off the tournament with a solid 71 and went into the second day leading the team at 1-under par. We finished the tournament with a solid round, coming in at 2-over par as a team, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to move us up very far. Grace was the top finisher for the team, inside the top-25, and the team finished in 11^th place at 13-over par total. Our three-round total was, in fact, one of the lowest team totals we have had in program history. That being said, we all know we left a few shots out there, so we look forward to what other rounds we can add to the record books throughout this spring.  We will take what we learned in this tournament into practice with us, as we have two weekends at home in preparation for our next tournament held in Augusta, Georgia, in early March.

After reflecting on our time spent in Arizona, I've realized a newfound appreciation for the amazing opportunities this game has awarded each and every one of us. The places we've gone and people we've met along the way are what make this journey so special. We cannot thank our supporters, fans, friends and families enough for all that you do. We are truly blessed to be playing for such an amazing university and program. It's trips like these that provide us with memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, so thank you to everyone who made it so special.

Until next time, Illini fans.

Keep it in the short grass,

Dana Gattone