After 11 events, it has all come down to this for the Illinois women’s golf team.

Beginning Friday, the Illini will compete in the Big Ten Championships in French Lick, Ind., at the Donald Ross Golf Course. It is a 7,030-yard, par-70 course.

The Orange and Blue previously played there during the fall season in the Lady Northern Intercollegiate, placing seventh out of 12 schools. They feel this experience is important for posting a better finish this weekend.

“It’s just always nice to know what to expect when you’re going to a course,” senior Katelin Dilger said. “Then that way you can prepare, whether it’s a certain part of your game physically or even mentally.”

Head coach Renee Slone agreed, adding that putting will be difficult on the course.

“We played there in the fall, so we have an excellent idea as far as how things will play,” Slone said. “It is very important to position yourself well on the green because the greens are a challenging aspect of the golf course.”

In addition to the difficult greens, the fairways are wide, which will put an emphasis on approach shots.

Seniors Dilger, Hailey Koschmann, Samantha Sloan, Nora Lucas, sophomore Ember Schuldt and freshman Michelle Mayer will be competing for the Illini.

Illinois played last weekend in the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. Coming on the cusp of postseason play, the golf team finished 11th out of 11, its worst showing of the season.

“Being realistic, I’m sure there’s a little bit of a thought of (redeeming themselves),” Slone said. “Hopefully, we can use that as motivation to get back to business and play the golf that we are capable of playing.”

She added that the team focused on the positives of this past season, including breaking the school record for the best three-round performance, in an effort to prepare for the Big Ten Championships.

Members of the team felt they let themselves down and are seeking to put the loss behind them to focus on playing the golf they know they can.

“It was definitely a little disappointing, but it’s better that it happened last week rather than this week,” Dilger said of the last-place finish. “I think we’re all ready to just go out there and play our best.”

“The things that you learn the most are when you fail,” Lucas said. “We realized what we didn’t do well, and we’re just excited to move forward.”

The team did not have much time for practice because of the short turnaround, but the players took their time Monday to work on individual skills. The next day, they focused on short game as a team followed by a practice round to rid themselves of the bad taste leftover from the weekend.

After minimal practice, the members of the team denied having any butterflies.

“We’re just looking at it as any other tournament,” Lucas said.