Chip Shots: Alise Knudson Recaps the Fall Season

 Hello Illini Nation!

I am sophomore Alise Knudson, and I am going to share with you a recap of our fall season and our plans for this off season.

We ended our fall season a few weeks back at the Hurricane Invitational, hosted by the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Fla. Crystal Wang tied for eighth in the individual standings at three-under and recorded her tenth top-15 finish in a row, dating back to last season. Junior Isabel Sy also finished tied for eighth at three-under, recording her second top-10 finish of the season. Mattie Frick also posted her career-low tournament at two-over and her career-low round of 70 (-2).

Our team gained a lot of valuable information from this event as well as our other events in the fall to help us see more success in the spring season. Using the information we gained, we then formed a plan for the off season, which includes a focus on lag putting and distance control with our wedges and short irons.

We have had time to look at the first half of our season and really focus in on what we individually, and as a team, can spend more time and energy on in order to give us the biggest return on our investment. We have been working hard in the gym as well as at the Demirjian Indoor Golf Facility to make the most out of the three weeks we have on campus before winter break.

Since our off season began, we as a team have attended two football games, one against Michigan State and the other against Purdue. It was so much fun to be able to show our support to other student-athletes. We have also had more time to hang out with each other outside of golf doing things like going out to eat, shopping, playing games and watching movies.

Having time over our winter and fall breaks to work on our areas of improvement individually as well as taking advantage of the time we have left in Champaign to work as a team will be key to our success in the spring.

We are already looking forward to bringing our best to the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., from Feb. 12-14 and starting our spring season off strong!

I-L-L

Until next time,

Alise Knudson