Champaign, Ill. - The spring season is fast approaching, and Fighting Illini men's golf is ready for the challenge. The Illini will play in six spring tournaments before beginning postseason play at the Big Ten Championships, looking to build upon the momentum from last year's NCAA Semifinalist finish. The Illini enter the spring season ranked at No. 2 in the nation in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and No. 1 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, coming off of a successful fall slate that saw the team win four of five events.
"I know the guys are really looking forward to this spring," head coach Mike Small said. "We had a very successful fall and the guys played really well. They all had bright spots in the season that they're individually proud of, but I think they all realize that the fall is done and was in place to accomplish some things. We accomplished them and now we need to start over again and start the spring. This is a whole new season in our minds; we talk about the fall season, the spring season and the championship season."
The spring opener is right around the corner as Illinois opens play on Feb. 1 at the Tinervin Cup, a match play event against Illinois State held in Placida, Fla. Illinois has won the event 12 years in a row, and will look to continue its perfect streak.
"The Tinervin Cup is a great opportunity for us," Small said of the season opener. "We are so thankful to Jeff and Madalyn Tinervin for this event. It's an opportunity for us to knock the rust off over the winter, but we also get to establish and identify the parts of our game that we need to work on."
"The fall season is meant to work on some things, establish a mindset and establish some results," Small said of the earlier part of the year. "In the spring season, we need to build momentum, beginning in February and continuing in March and into April. We need to address parts of our game, like we always do, and build a solid foundation for success leading into the championship part of the season: Big Tens, NCAA Regionals and NCAA Nationals."
The Orange and Blue will continue to build that momentum at the Louisiana Classics on Feb. 29, marking the first stroke play event of the season. Hosted by Louisiana-Lafayette, the tournament will take place at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette. Illinois has won the event three years in a row, taking the 2015 title with a 22-stroke lead. Senior Thomas Detry will return as the reigning champion, scoring 13-under par at last year's event.
March 7 sees the Illini at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters for another season. The tournament, known as one of the top collegiate tournaments in the country, will take place at the Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament field will feature several of the nation's top-ranked teams including No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas in addition to seven other teams ranked among the top-35 in the United States.
UI will then head to the Floridian National Golf Club for the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on March 21. The tournament will again feature some of the nation's top competition including seven other teams ranked among the top-30.
The Illini will close the spring slate with the 3M Augusta Invitational (April 2-3) and the Boilermaker Invitational (April 16-17) before beginning postseason play at the Big Ten Championship, April 22. The Big Ten Conference will again host the event at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind. Illinois has won the Big Ten Championship title in six of the last seven seasons, including winning the 2015 event by 32 strokes.
"There's a method to the madness of our schedule," Small said of the spring slate. "I think it builds momentum as the season goes on and that's what we want. It's a strong schedule and we've got a roster full of guys who are going to be competing for spots in the lineup. I believe the golf courses and the tournament fields are going to help us to build that body of work heading into the postseason and establish ourselves nationally as a team, but the schedule will also allow the players to establish themselves individually on our team. I think the tournaments and the golf courses enable us to do that to where our players will grow and develop their body of work throughout the spring."
The Illini will look to two and three-time All-Americans Thomas Detry and Charlie Danielson for leadership during the spring slate, and to redshirt senior Alex Burge who has three NCAA Championship appearances under his belt. Sophomores Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer are poised to make a major impact for the Orange and Blue this year as well, and freshman Edoardo Lipparelli saw action in three fall tournaments, earning a top-16 finish in two of them.
"Our guys have embraced the mindset that we want to play well every time we go out and we want to build on the previous week," Small said of the team's goals for the season. "We understand that there are going to be ups and downs over the course of a long season. We know that we need to accept those down times, but learn from them and turn them into a positive experience, using them to build momentum as the semester goes on. As a team, our camaraderie and our togetherness has been strong. Our goal is to continue to strengthen that bond and remain a strong group that nothing can infiltrate."
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini men's golf as the team begins the spring season.
