With the departure of a veteran core that led the team to its second straight NCAA Regional berth in the 2011-12 season, the Illinois women’s golf team would face a new era with a much younger team.

The Illini were not sure what would become of the inexperienced team and, with two seniors, one junior and five sophomores, the growing pains were apparent early. Illinois notched penultimate finishes in the Ram Classic and the Dale McNamara Invitational. 

Illinois then had its best showing at the Wolverine Invitational. Junior Ember Schuldt and sophomore Michelle Mayer led the way with sixth-place individual finishes, as the Illini placed third among 14 teams.

Tying for eighth at the Hoosier Fall Invitational would be the last time the Illini would finish in a competitive spot in a tournament. Illinois would finish its fall season with a last place showing at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invite. Sophomore Samantha Postillion and Schuldt were the most consistent players on the team for the fall, but they knew Illinois needed better results.

Throughout the season, head coach Renee Slone and assistant coach Jackie Szymoniak preached about confidence and not letting past results influence that confidence. The team’s fall season was full of ups and downs, but the spring season would bring even more struggles.

“I think we had some challenges transferring that confidence from the practice situations into the tournament situations,” Slone said.

Illinois started 2013 well with a match play win versus Illinois State in the Illinois Challenge on Feb. 3. The 6-3 win was the fifth straight for Illinois in the competition.

The Westbrook Spring Invitational was the Illini’s next taste of tournament play and while the team recorded its best team round of 295, only the second time it broke 300 for the season, the team could only muster an 11th place finish out of 13 teams.

At the Notre Dame Clover Cup, Illinois finished in last place of 16 teams. It then finished 15th of 18 at the Insperity Lady Jaguar Invitational. Despite the team struggles, Schuldt had another stellar individual finish with a season-low 222, which was good for a tie for ninth-place individually.

The Marsh Landing Invitational on April 8-9 saw the team struggle again, but Postillion led the team this time, breaking Schuldt’s season-low with a 219 for the tournament. She finished tied for 11th place.

Illinois then headed out to Ohio State for the Lady Buckeye Invitational for its regular season finale. The team finished 11th out of 12.

The Big Ten Championships capped off a subpar season with a last place showing for the Illini.

Falling short of its goals will not deter the young team going forward. The experience is what the players will take away most from this season as they prepare for next year,

“You really have to believe in yourself to be successful,” Slone said. “Trust is extremely important.”

Alex can be reached at [email protected] and @AlexOrtiz2334.