Through five tournaments, the Illinois women’s golf team has had its share of struggles. In three of those competitions, the team has finished either last or second to last. Still, the team does have a few bright spots to build off of.

“Going into the fall, we knew it was going to be a season of transition given the fact that four of our starting five from last season graduated,” head coach Renee Slone said. “Transition is not a smooth process and we experienced many bumps along the way.“

The first invitational took place at the Colonel Wollenberg’s Ram Classic on Sept. 10-11 in Colorado, where the team finished 16th in a field of 17. Samantha Postillion produced the team’s best individual performance with a 13-over-par 229 for the tournament, which earned her a ranking of 39th overall.

Next up was the Dale McNamara Invitational in Broken Arrow, Okla., on Sept. 17-18, as the team placed 14th at the 15-team tournament and saw a slight improvement. Postillion yet again paced the Illini with her 10-over-par 226, and this time her score tied her for 30th individually.

At the next tournament, the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sept. 22-23, the team had its best showing of the season by far, tying for third place out of 14 teams. Junior Ember Schuldt and sophomore Michelle Mayer pulled off the two best individual performances. Both shot a 9-over-par 232, which were good for tying for sixth individually. Their best rounds both came in the third round, with Mayer shooting a 3-over-par 74 and Schuldt shooting a 1-over-par 72. Postillion also continued her progress as she shot a 20-over-par 233, which put her in 12th place.

On Oct. 13-14, the team then hit a bump in the road at the Hoosier Invitational in Florence, Ind., where they put up scores of 309 and 304 for its first two rounds, which placed them at fifth place after Day One. But a third round of 325 on Day Two dropped the team into a tie for eighth place. Postillion yet again led the team with a 20th-place finish of 15-over-par 231.

Finally, two weeks later, the Illini travelled to Austin, Texas, for the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. The team had its best round all season breaking 300 as a team on Day Three of the competition for the first time this season. Sophomore Pimploy Thirati had her career-best round with a 1-under-par 72 and tied for 37th individually. Still, the team finished in last place and now looks forward to its winter break.

“Through the experiences, the team has been able to learn, grow and improve,” Slone said. “This is a sign of things to come in the spring and provides the team with a huge boost of confidence heading into the offseason.”

Alex can be reached at [email protected].