March 3, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
For the first time in five years, the Illinois State men's and women's golf teams will travel out of the country for spring break. After going to Ireland the first four times, the teams will take their annual trip to Portugal. Both teams are set to leave Friday and come back March 13.
All 11 of the men's team members and all nine of the women's team will be attending the trip to the Algarve.
"I have five seniors going and [the men's team] has three," women's golf head coach Darby Sligh said. "It's nice for them to be able to cap off their careers with a trip like this."
Over a course of five days, the teams will have the opportunity to play at five of the 35 courses in the region including Vila Sol, the Old Course, Pinhal, Victoria and Quinta do Lago South, where they will have the opportunity to play against the local competition.
"Playing against the local competition is a really neat opportunity," men's golf head coach Ray Kralis said. "You obviously make new relationships, but also just to learn a bit about different cultures. Golf is very different outside of the states. Over here, everything is geared towards perfect conditions and we all worry about how pretty our swings are and getting our swings technically sound. You go over and play in Europe and golf is about getting the ball in the hole."
"My team is excited about just being immersed in a new culture, because a lot of them haven't been overseas to Europe before," Sligh added. "I think it's going to be an eye-opening experience for a lot of different reasons, but mostly on a cultural level. Being able to experience a different golf course, a different language, a different area, I think it's going to be really good for everybody while giving us an opportunity for personal growth."
Sligh looks to use the upcoming trip as a stepping stone for the final stretch of their season.
"I think it will be a huge turning point for us personally" she said. "We have two tournaments [in the spring season] under our belts, but now we have a chance to regroup, come back together, spend more time on grass and work on the things that we haven't really gotten to work on before getting thrown into competition."
Not only is Kralis looking forward to the golf, but also the life experience everyone will gain from this opportunity.
"This is a one-time shot," he said. "We want to include everything in this trip. We want to see a little bit of the culture and we want to experience it all. Obviously, the golf end is the priority, but there will be time to do everything else too. We don't want to miss anything while we're there."
Both coaches are very appreciative of the donors who made this experience possible.
"The donor support has been terrific, just through friends, family and businesses around the area," Sligh said. "It's really why we're going."
"We're very thankful to our donors, because without our donor support and our fundraising, we wouldn't be able to take this trip of a lifetime," Kralis said.
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