Illini Nation,

"Thankful" is a massive understatement when I reflect on my last five years in Champaign. I could go on forever discussing just how impactful, inspiring, transformative, and enlivening my time at Illinois has been. In March of 2020, I thought my time here had come to an end. Here we are, over a year later, and I've just completed my last competitive chapter as a collegiate athlete. I'm overflowing with gratitude and excitement as I begin my professional career, because I know the experiences, triumphs, challenges, and resources that I've gained from being a student-athlete at Illinois have set me up for success. While I will no longer be competing for this team going forward, I will forever have a team, home, and family here in Champaign. 

Just this past week, I traveled out to Denver to compete in the CoBank Colorado Women's Open for my first event as a professional! I made the journey by myself, and everything went very smoothly (Thanks for the itinerary inspiration, Coach!). This was my first trip out to Colorado, and the elevation changes came with a lot of adjustments! The first two days of my trip, I experienced slight altitude sickness and noticed that it was especially difficult to stay hydrated. I made sure to keep water around me at all times! I spent most of my practice time adjusting to the distance increase, which was anywhere from 3% to 9% depending on the temperatures. I made a solid game plan for myself and put myself in great positions all week, but too many putts seemed to love skimming the edge of the cup. 

The week seemed to move extremely quickly, but I still made time to visit some of the parks and tourist attractions in the Denver area! I had so much fun playing in my first event as a professional. The transition from collegiate golf to professional golf can bring with it a different mentality and motivation, but I feel that mine will remain the same. The love that I have for golf continues to grow stronger every day, and I'm looking forward to the joy, passion, and learning experiences that will come my way in the future.

I'm currently still finishing up my Master's degree in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism. In a couple weeks, I'll begin my last course as a graduate student! I'm grateful that I have been able to maintain status as a student while pursuing my professional career. I feel that it has eased the transition with a similar schedule to being a student-athlete at Illinois. Once August rolls around, I will officially graduate from the University, and truly navigate the new schedule, priorities, challenges, and triumphs of professional golf.

I cannot thank this University, my coaches, teammates, support staff, community, and family enough for their support and encouragement over the last five years. Wherever this journey takes me, I will bring the spirit of the Fighting Illini with me. I'm ecstatic to continue cheering for the Orange and Blue for the rest of my life. The future is bright!

I-L-L!

Tristyn Nowlin