Hello Illini Nation!

It has been about a week since we wrapped up a remarkable postseason, and I am excited to reflect on such a memorable experience!

Going back a few weeks to NCAA Regionals, we left for Michigan State's Forest Akers West Golf Course on Saturday, May 4 and then took advantage of the opportunity to use the course's facilities later that afternoon. We went out for a quick dinner after a productive practice session and rested up to get ready for the upcoming few days.

The next day, we had a beneficial practice round where we figured out how to best approach this golf course. We were excited to be playing in the Midwest for NCAA Regionals, since we were used to the weather conditions that were predicted for the event.

We started day one solid, shooting +4 and ending up in third place. Although, we were relatively satisfied with our rounds, we knew there was a lot of golf to be played. We practiced for a bit after the round to fine-tune some parts of our games. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner at Bravo Cucina, then went back to the hotel to study and get some rest.

Day two started off with a weather delay, which ended up lasting for about six hours. It was then decided that we would do a shotgun start at 2:45 pm in order to get all 18 holes in. It was a bit of a rougher day, where we shot +12 leaving us tied for fifth. We had a quick team talk to get us in the proper mental state for the last day then headed back to the hotel.

With spirits and attitudes much higher going into day three, we were ready to redeem ourselves. Our junior Tristyn Nowlin stepped up, shooting a five under 67 which brought our team total to +2 for the day. A collective total of +18 resulted in a fifth-place finish and qualifying us for NCAA Championship for the first time in program history!

We were excited to have made history, but knew we had a lot of work ahead of us to prepare for Arkansas! With classes and final exams over, we could give 100% of our focus to golf. Our practices the next few days were specific to best prepare us for Blessings Golf Club, and this proved to be very beneficial for us at NCAA Championships. 

We had the opportunity to fly private the following Tuesday, which made traveling quite a bit faster and easier, not to mention fun! We then started Wednesday off with a practice section at Big Sugar, where we took advantage of the opportunity to get used to zoysia grass and sharpen our games. That afternoon, we did a walkthrough of the course, where we gathered important information about the Blessings we would use for the rest of the tournament.

We woke up Thursday ready to see what this course had to offer us. We took diligent notes and made sure we had a clear understanding of our game plan for the next couple of days. The golf course was in amazing shape, with smooth greens and barely any divots on the fairways. We went to bed excited for the next few days and ready to make a statement at our first NCAA Championship appearance.

Our first round of the tournament was a little rough and presented many challenges. We finished the day +28, and we all gained important knowledge about the golf course after seeing it a second time. We had a beneficial practice session after the round, cleaning up our games and changing our game plan for a few holes where it was necessary.

With all of us feeling comfortable for round two, we headed to the course ready to apply what we learned from the day before. Unfortunately, thunderstorms began rolling in around noon, and we were unable to tee off. After many hours of waiting, it was concluded that there would be no play. We went back to the hotel and waited for an announcement regarding how the NCAA would handle a day of golf lost. They decided to shorten stroke play to 54 holes and make the cut to 8 teams for match play after the third round.

After a restart on round two, we improved quite a bit, shooting +4 to end up with +32 as our two-day total and moving up to 14^th place from 17^th. Gathering even more information about the course, we were ready for our final round of stroke play.

For our last and final day of stroke play, we played with heart and for each other. Freshmen Kornkamol Sukaree and Crystal Wang led the way with a pair of -3 rounds, bringing our three-day total to +41. After resting and eating lunch, we had a short practice session and waited for the rest of the scores to role in. The teams still playing couldn't finish due to darkness and had about three holes in total to finish up their third rounds. Around the cut line, we went back to the hotel and prepared to arrive to the course early the next morning. Auburn finished their rounds the next day at +39, leaving us at T-9^th place and just short of match play. We had an amazing experience, and I am so glad to have finished my college career at NCAAs. 

These past four years have gone by so fast, and I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way. The future of the program is bright, and I cannot wait to watch what this team will accomplish. They have learned so much from our experience at NCAA Championships, and being so close to making it to match play will be a huge motivator for the upcoming season. To my teammates and all future Illini, please appreciate every moment you have on the team and all the opportunities and challenges offered to you as an Illini student-athlete. I would give anything to go back and do it all over again.

This season and team holds a very special place in my heart, not only because of all of the records we broke, but because of the bond we shared with each other. I am so proud of this team. Thank you to my teammates for an incredible year filled with love and laughter. Thank you to my coaches for loving and supporting me unconditionally, and for always believing in me. Last but not least, thank you Illini Nation for an incredible four years I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Go Illini!

Bing Singhsumalee
 

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