Big Ten champion Illini land in San Antonio regional
Apr. 27—URBANA — Big Ten tournament championship trophies ring the circular lobby of the Demirjian Golf Practice Facility.
A dozen of them won by the Illinois men's team take up space on the specifically built shelves.
The most-recent trophy — this one secured Sunday with individual Big Ten champion Crystal Wang dominating the field at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh — had a place of honor on a table in the center of the room. It was the reason the Illinois women's team gathered Wednesday afternoon at the facility.
Without it, the NCAA regionals selection show likely would have run its course without the Illinois golfers seeing their name on TV. The first Big Ten championship in program history changed everything, with the ensuing automatic berth making it a matter of when, not if, the Illini would find out their regional assignment.
It didn't take long, either.
The breakdown of the first regional seemed to drag, but then it was Illinois' turn to celebrate with the news the team would be headed to TPC San Antonio from May 8-10 to continue championship season as the No. 9 seed in the 12-team regional field.
"It was pretty relaxing not having to stress if we were on the list or not," Illinois sophomore Lexanne Halama said.
Illinois' performance at Fox Chapel Golf Club made Wednesday a stress-free experience. The Illini entered the Big Ten championship knowing they had to win to ensure their season didn't end in Pittsburgh.
"I guess in the back of our mind we knew we had to win," Illinois junior Isabel Sy said. "When we arrived in Pennsylvania, there wasn't much talk about it. We were just trying to take it one shot at a time and really stay in the moment and just have fun with it. ... We didn't know if that would be our last tournament or not. Luckily, that kind of mentality is what got us here to this day."
The regular-season results certainly didn't put Illinois in position as any kind of favorite heading into the Big Ten championship. The Illini's best tournaments were a pair of sixth-place finishes at The Ally in West Point, Miss., in mid-October and at Briar's Creek Invitational in Johns Island, S.C., in mid-March.
"We've been talking with the team all season long of our belief in them and their capabilities," Illinois coach Renee Slone said. "We've been reminding them of that week after week after week in the season about being patient. The time will come, and it all came together.
"It's frustrating, sure. The nature of this game can be very frustrating, but reminding them to work the process. Continue to work the process while understanding we put all this time and effort in and there's no guarantee of a return on that or when a return may come."
The ups and downs of the 2022-23 season mostly didn't feature many inconsistent performances from Wang.
The newly crowned Big Ten Golfer of the Year, announced on Wednesday just before the NCAA selection show, has eight top-10 finishes this season, including her first collegiate win at the Clemson Invitational in late March and this past weekend's Big Ten title. The Diamond Bar, Calif., native enters NCAA regional action at No. 8 nationally in the Golfstat rankings among those chasing reigning NCAA champion and top-ranked Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang.
"She certainly has been our rock," Slone said of Wang. "Sometimes, you have to learn how to win and be in that position a few times to manage the moment and manage yourself. ... That final round (at the Big Ten championship) was remarkable. That's one for the ages and one for the history books."
