Illini women's golf remain optimistic about future progress

"I thought we had a solid start but just weren't able to make a move in the second round and keep the momentum going," head coach Renee Slone said.

All 11 Big Ten teams played in the tournament, providing a preview of how the conference may play out this year. Purdue won the tournament with a three-round 865.

The Illini finished at 916, a few too many strokes for their liking.

"As a team, we need to eliminate the big numbers, try to keep it to bogeys and pars. We need to get a little more aggressive and make more birdies," said sophomore Kaitlyn Wampler, who led Illinois with a 227, good for a tie for 23rd place.

Following closely behind Wampler was sophomore Sammi Sloan, who concluded the tournament with a score of 228 and tied for 28th place.

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Illini women's golf searches for consistency 

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Sloan believed the finish left something to be desired but thought the Illini are headed in the right direction.

"We are really goal driven this year. We played pretty well as a team, and I think we're in the right direction. We're really happy with that," said Sloan.

Coach Slone thought the tournament gave her team something to build on.

"I was pleased we were able to start the tournament as contenders, we were able to get ourselves in a good position, but we need to keep our momentum going," Slone said.

The Illini had a solid 300 to open the first round Sunday and were still doing well later in the day before inclement weather suspended play midway through the second round. The conclusion of the second round and the third round were continued Monday in windy conditions, which is one aspect that coach Slone wants to work on in practice.

"We need to work on keeping the ball low through the strong winds and just take advantage of good scoring opportunities. We just need to continue to build confidence and work on staying motivated the entire tournament," said Slone.

Wampler and Sloan also thought that the team needs to work on keeping the ball lower, and they could get their chance next week at the aptly named Windy City Collegiate Classic on Monday.

"Sunday they came out and we were on a mission, we had a goal in mind. We need to carry that same level of focus and intensity throughout the entire tournament and just gain consistency," said coach Slone.