Hello Illini Nation!

Over the past two and a half weeks our team has learned and found success in our experiences at the Briar's Creek Invitational in John's Island, S.C, the Clemson Invitational in Sunset, S.C., and our spring break trip to Sea Island, Ga.

Our spring break trip started out by playing at the Briar's Creek Invitational. The course and conditions provided a challenge with some high winds, but our team managed it well with a strong second round score of one under par. Isabel Sy earned her second career top ten finish with scores of 75-69-72 to finish even par and tied for eighth place. Our team used this event as motivation heading into the Clemson Invitational and the rest of the regular season. We all found areas of improvement to focus on as we headed to Sea Island, Ga., for some practice.

In Sea Island, we had the opportunity to play two beautiful and challenging courses, Ocean Forest Golf Club and Frederica Golf Club. Mr. Andy Langan was kind enough to host our team while we were there as well as arrange tee times for us. We are grateful for his generosity and accommodations he made for us during our stay. During our two days of play, we were split into two teams and had a points system to provide some competition for us during our practice. This was a good way for us to prepare for our upcoming events and simulate a tournament mindset. The two courses provided some different conditions and opportunities to improve our games and learn. I personally enjoyed playing Ocean Forest Golf Club as the par threes were challenging and there were ocean views on some of the holes. The last day of our training trip we had the opportunity to practice at the University of North Florida practice facility. I would like to thank Coach Berglund for allowing us to practice there as Jacksonville, Fla., had received a good amount of rain before we arrived.

Our practice during spring break helped our team to have a successful week at the Clemson Invitational just this past week. The Reserve at Lake Keowee served as a wonderful host site as the golf course was challenging and the residents were so welcoming. We especially enjoyed staying with Mr. and Mrs. Pratt and their dog Marley. The volunteers and the host families were all so kind and supportive to all of the teams in attendance. The first day of the event we had a strong start shooting four over par as a team and finding ourselves in a tie for first place. We knew the next day the conditions would be different as the wind was expected to pick up. The wind the second day presented a challenge, however, our team came back strong the third day and we finished in second place. I would like to give a shout out to Lexanne Halama as she earned her first career top ten finish with scores of 77-74-72 and to Kornkamol Sukaree and Isabel Sy on their top 20 finishes.

As a team we can take many positives from the Clemson Invitational which we can bring into our next event, the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, as well as into postseason. We are excited to work on some areas of improvement over the next couple weeks and bring our best in Columbus!

Until next time,

Alise Knudson