Hello Illini!!
We are back from Johns Creek, Georgia, where we played the Atlanta Athletic Club for the Ladies Fall Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Louisville. As a team, we finished in third place, making this our fifth straight top-five finish in the fall!
This tournament was a great experience for us all because it was our first time playing at this course. The course served as quite a challenge with the different weather conditions we faced. The course also demanded accurate tee shots and the greens were fast and firm, which made it difficult to stop the ball at times. The first day of the tournament the weather was great and conditions were similar to our practice round, which helped with all the great practice we got in. After the first round, we were in third place. Following the first round, Tristyn and Ali played in the Par 3 Junior Golf Scramble. This was a unique event in which each team had two players play with juniors to focus on continuing to grow the game. Their team shot 4 under par!
The second day of the tournament we anticipated rainy conditions all day. This helped us to stay mentally prepared for what we were going to face and stay patient throughout the day. We got lucky as it was misty most of the day and the downpour didn't begin until after we finished our round! As a team, we stayed in position at third place by shooting a total of 295. Following play, Ashley Adelman, a University of Illinois Women's Golf Alum, and her family, including her parents Mr. and Mrs. Webb, provided a wonderful dinner for us including Halloween themed cupcakes! It was great to eat a home cooked meal, and we all left with full stomachs and full hearts ready to tackle the final day of the tournament!
The final round of the tournament we faced challenging weather conditions, with temperatures that dropped to 38 degrees and winds blowing 25-35 mph. We were prepared with hand warmers and thermal clothing. However, after playing 5-8 holes, play was cancelled because conditions continued to worsen and wind was making the course unplayable. Some players' balls were moving and rolling off the greens. Although our fall season has come to a faster end than planned, we all valued every experience we had this tournament and will apply it to tournaments in the future.
A huge shout out to Tessi Taylor, our Compliance Coordinator for substituting in place of Coach Jenny for this trip! She was a huge help and supported us throughout the whole tournament. She toughed it out through all the different weather conditions we faced this trip!
With this being our final tournament of the fall season, we will now be focusing on strength and conditioning in the offseason, as well as academics and various growth opportunities for each team member. Our next tournament will be in Peoria, Arizona, on February 25-26 for the Westbrook Invitational!
Until next time Illini!
Grace Park
