Hello Illini Nation!
After just over a month into the school year, we have already blasted into season and have finished up two tournaments! We were fortunate to go back to two of the tournaments we played in last year, the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate in Knoxville, Tennessee and the Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Going into our first tournament was very exciting. With some fresh faces on our team and a revitalized drive to go out and compete hard, we were ready to play for our school and for each other. Our experience in Knoxville was a challenging one, but one we can all look back at as a great learning experience. With the stormy weather coming in from the recent hurricanes, we were faced with the challenge of playing in weather conditions that were not too favorable. For our two new freshmen Stang (Sukaree) and Crystal (Wang), it was a chance for them not only to get a real feel for what collegiate competition is like, but also how to play in these kinds of conditions. Although it was not the showing we were hoping for, we were still able to improve after every round and come out with a third-place team finish. Even if we did not have our best tournament, we knew that we still had a lot more to give out there and we took the time to recognize how much potential our team has coming out with a top-three finish.
Back on campus, the mindset was all about recovery, what we learned from the last tournament, and what specifically to focus on during practice to best prepare ourselves for our quick turn-around into the tournament at Coeur d'Alene the following weekend. We all knew what we needed to improve on and our season opener left us eager to get another crack at bringing home the hardware.
After only three days back on campus, we hit the road again to play in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, home of the infamous floating green on hole number 14. Right when we landed in Spokane, Washington to drive over to Idaho, you could really sense a difference in the team atmosphere. We had more energy, more excitement, and most of all, we were more mindful of why we were out there and how fortunate and blessed we were to have this opportunity to play at a course that some people only wish to play at one day. After a successful and informative practice round, we woke up the next day to a chilly morning but a beautiful day to play. In our team huddle, we focused on keeping up the energy, remembering our "why," and just enjoying the moment. With our newfound mentality coupled with our efficient and effective preparation, we were able to shoot some solid numbers and come out with our first win of the season! Although there is still so much more to improve on, we were happy to have improved our par-5 play from the last tournament. Looking at our stats, we actually led the field in par-4 and par-5 play, being the only team to shoot under par on the par-5s. In addition, we led the field in birdies with a team total of 52! Individually, we all played steadily, but a special shout out to our freshman Crystal for placing second overall! It was great to be able to pull out this win, especially since we were runner-up at this event last year.
As much as we are excited to have won our last event, coming back on campus we have been fully engaged in preparing ourselves for our tournament at Medinah next week. We are focused, ecstatic, and driven to keep on improving tournament after tournament. We hope to see many of you out at Medinah, so we can flood the course with some orange and blue!
Until next time, Go Illini Go!
Ali Morallos
Follow the Illini
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Women's Golf. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for complete coverage.
