CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's golf team has two weeks until the first tournament of the 2017 spring campaign. When the Fighting Illini play in their first spring tournament at the end of February, it will have been four months since the last tournament on the fall slate.

"Competition has been one of our key focal points during practice," said head coach Renee Slone. "We have created practice pods, and with nine team members each pod consists of three players. Each week the pods change. We have competitions throughout the week and treat Saturdays like a tournament day. It's set up with various skills challenges and competitions between the different pods so they have that competitive element on a regular basis to get them primed and ready for the season."

Illinois will head out to Peoria, Arizona, for the Westbrook Spring Invitational on Feb. 26-27. It will be the sixth-straight trip for the Illini to the Westbrook Spring Invitational. The Orange and Blue last won the tournament in 2012.

"The Westbrook Spring Invitational is a terrific tournament to start the spring at," said Slone. "We have the opportunity to stay with host families there so it adds to the unique atmosphere. Our hosts as well as Illini alumni in the area really support the team members and go out of their way to make us feel at home."

Next on the schedule for Illinois is the Meadow Club Women's Intercollegiate in Fairfax, California, set for March 6-7.

"Meadow Club is a new tournament for us in California," Slone said. "Grace (Park) was able to play the course in the summer so she will share some information about the course and assist with our pre-tournament preparation for that event."

Two weeks later, the Illini will head to Johns Island, South Carolina, for the Briar's Creek Invitational on March 20-21. Illinois did not play in the tournament last year, but did compete in 2014 and 2015, finishing in the top five in 2015.

"Briar's Creek is an excellent tournament on a great golf course," Slone said. "A premier tournament atmosphere from top to bottom so that will be a strong mid-season test for us."

Illinois will play in three tournaments during the month of March, and the final one is the Henssler Financial Intercollegiate in Kennesaw, Georgia, on March 27-28. The Illini finished third in the tournament last year.

"We will have a couple of days after Briar's Creek before we head to our next tournament in Kennesaw," Slone said. "We will utilize that time for additional practice and play that will continue to aid in overall growth and development.  We are looking forward to using the experience we gained last year on this course to our advantage."

The last regular season tournament on the slate is the Lady Buckeye Invitational, set for April 15-16 in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament has been on the schedule for Illinois every year since 2006, and will be the last tournament before the Big Ten Championships at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio from April 21-23.

"The Lady Buckeye Invitational is always a good lead-in to Big Tens," Slone said. "We are very excited about the season. Great golf courses and some excellent challenges will provide many opportunities to display our skills and our talents. We are looking forward to building on our skill set throughout the spring season."

NCAA Regionals are scheduled for May 8-11, and the NCAA Championships will be held in Sugar Grove, Illinois, May 19-24.

With the NCAA Championships in their home state, the Illini are looking to take things one step at a time.

"We are looking for continued growth," Slone said. "Learning every day and every round presents an opportunity to learn more about ourselves, our golf games mentally, physically and emotionally and continue moving forward and building on each and every experience."