CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following a summer that saw the Fighting Illini travel the world, Illinois women's golf head coach Renee Slone has gathered her squad to take on the 2015-16 season, her 10th at the helm. With Jenny Coluccio at her side for the third season, Slone has returned six players from last year's campaign and brought in a pair of new faces as well.
"We are very excited for the possibilities this season presents," shared Slone. "With our starting five returning and the addition of Bing and Katherine, practices and qualifying are going to be very competitive with team members challenging each other to continue to improve each day. By following our commitment to get a little better every day, we will be in a great position by season's end."
Orange and Blue Newcomers
New to the Orange and Blue this season are Bing Singhsumalee, a freshman from Naperville, Illinois, and Katherine Hepler, a native of Lincoln, Illinois. Hepler, enters graduate school at Illinois with one year of eligibility remaining after competing at Mizzou. A senior in terms of eligibility, Hepler will redshirt the season and close out her career as a redshirt senior during the 2016-17 campaign.
"Both Bing and Katherine have been wonderful additions to our team and seem to fit into the team dynamic rather well after only one week," Slone said of the newcomers. "Katherine will be redshirting this year but has a wealth of knowledge to draw from and can share her past experiences for the benefit of the entire team. Bing is making a seamless transition to college and is managing all of her responsibilities very well. Both are a pleasure to have in the program and are very motivated, competitive people who have experienced much success in a number of different areas in their lives."
Opportunities with a Team of Eight
With just two new faces to the program this season, Illinois will have one of its smallest squads in years with just eight student-athletes listed, including Hepler, who is redshirting the season.
"This group will definitely push one another to perform to their highest level," said Slone. "Every player on this team has the potential to play in every tournament this year; that is how competitive it will be. A small squad provides us with the opportunity to develop even stronger relationships with each team member as well as give each more attention throughout the season."
Additionally, Illinois lists just one senior on the roster this year in Hepler, who is redshirting the season. A team that will not lose anyone to graduation, Illinois finds themselves with a valuable opportunity.
"This is a unique situation that the team members have already discussed and embraced," offered Slone. "They find this to be a tremendous opportunity in which to build the program and their legacy over the next two years and make a lasting impact. I think this has created an even stronger bond between the team members."
Summer Play
Many of the Illini saw success over the summer competing individually at tournaments. Singhsumalee was in that mix, as she picked up a sixth place, one-over par, finish at the Illinois Women's Open and additionally finished 10th at the Porter Cup. The Waubonsie Valley High School graduate also finished eighth at the AJGA Junior at Forest Lake event.
Dana Gattone and Stephanie Miller also competed at the Illinois Women's Open in late July. Gattone finished in fifth place after posting a final round of 69 (-3) for an even 216 finish. Miller finished with a share of 22nd at the event.
In the single-round U.S. Women's Amateur Championship qualifier, Miller carded the second-best reading of the field to earn a trip to Portland, Oregon. Miller was even through 15 holes, but locked up a spot in the August event as she shot three-under par on the final three holes including a par-five birdie and then an eagle on the final hole. At the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, Miller shot rounds of 78 and 73, but missed the cut.
Grace Park had an eventful summer as well. The sophomore finished in 10th place at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship qualifier, missing the cut by a mere stroke. Earlier in the summer, Park earned the first alternate spot in the U.S. Women's Open after posting rounds of 71-73 at the qualifier.
Fall Schedule
Action this fall for the Illini will spread across five tournaments and five different states. Illinois kicks off the 2015-16 campaign at the Minnesota Invitational, a tournament the team will compete in for the third-straight season. Last season, the Orange and Blue finished 10th in the field and was led by current junior, Stephanie Miller, who finished with a share of 21st individually while carding eight birdies at the event.
The next stop on the fall tour for Illinois will be the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate hosted by the Tennessee Volunteers from September 21-22. For the second week in a row, the Fighting Illini will compete, following the weekend, on Monday and Tuesday.
After two weeks, Illinois will be back on the road for the third competition of the season, this time at the Jim West Invitational hosted by Texas State in Boerne, Texas. The Orange and Blue competed at the event last season as well, finishing eighth. Miller led the Illini at the event, tying for 10th individually. As a team, Illinois registered 31 birdies at the competition and led all squads with a pair of eagles off the clubs of Dana Gattone and Samantha Postillion. The Jim West Invitational is slated for Sunday, Oct. 4 and Monday, Oct. 5.
Next, for the Fighting Illini unit, will be the Louisville-hosted Cardinal Cup, which is slated for Monday, Oct. 19 and Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
To close out the fall campaign, Slone and company will head to the Palmetto Intercollegiate, an event hosted by the College of Charleston in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The Illini competed at the event during the 2013-14 season and finished with a share of fifth place in the 19-team field. Senior at the time, Ember Schuldt, led Illinois as she tied for 16th on the individual board.
Opening Play Closer to Campus
Prior to this season, Illinois opened fall play at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic hosted by Colorado State. This season, Illinois will not make the trip to Colorado, opting to open much closer to home, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"When you look at the tournament landscape and consider the long term benefit and the way that a team improves in the rankings, it behooves us to play in tournaments with the greatest number of highly ranked teams participating," stated Slone. "Our schedule reflects that; with Labor Day being later this year, a number of tournaments were pushed back a weekend, which resulted in a large number of events taking place from September 12-19. We made choices that will set us on a path for term success."
Underclassmen in Big Roles
Last season, Illinois traveled two sophomores and three freshmen to all but one tournament. Miller and Emily Joers, current juniors, recorded the first- and fifth-best scoring averages for the Orange and Blue. Chayanid Prapassarangkul, Dana Gattone and Grace Park filled the spots between the juniors respectively.
Following two seasons of action with Illinois, Miller owns two spots on the single-season low stroke average list. Her freshman year, Miller posted the third-best mark in program history, averaging 75.00 strokes per round. A year later, last season, Miller again broke into the top-five marks, registering an average of 75.10 across the season.
"Steph and Em obviously have the most experience within our program and are willing to step up to the plate to lead the team," Slone shared of the juniors. "They complement each other very well as they have different strengths and have a strong relationship with each other. They have an understanding of each team member and realize what approach is needed in different situations and who between the two of them would be best suited to handle the task."
Prapassarangkul, Gattone and Park all earned spots on the single-season low stroke average top-10 list following their debut campaigns. Prapassarangkul owns the sixth-lowest single-season average in program history at 75.29. Gattone and Park sit in the eighth and ninth slots, respectively, with readings of 75.58 and 75.74.
"This class experienced tremendous growth last season," Slone added of the sophomores. "Since they were able to gain a vast amount of tournament experience, it will enable them to hit the ground running this season. All four sophomores are hard workers and continue to build their confidence. This group is extremely excited to put what they have learned into action this year and I know we are going to see some incredible things from them."
Illini Set to Host Pro-Am
On Friday, Oct. 9, the Illinois Women's Golf program will host a Pro-Am event to benefit the Orange and Blue program. The event will take place at the Lincolnshire Fields Country Club in Champaign, Illinois. The event features a scramble format comprised of a three-member team that will play with an Illinois PGA Professional. A hole-in-one shootout is also on the agenda with a chance to win $100,000.
B1G Players to Watch
The Fighting Illini women's golf team landed a trio of players on the list including: Dana Gattone, Chayanid Prapassarangkul and Stephanie Miller.
Miller, a junior from Elgin, Illinois, is on the list for the third time in her career, while Prapassarangkul earned the honor for the second time in as many years. This marks the first Big Ten Player to Watch accolade for Gattone.
Follow Illinois
The full 2015-16 schedule can be viewed HERE or downloaded HERE. For more information on the Fighting Illini be sure to log onto FIGHTINGILLINI.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
