Final Scores
Eugene, Oregon – Fighting Illini men's golf closed out one of the most successful seasons in program history on Tuesday, falling to Oregon 3-2-0 in the National Championship Semifinal Match. The Illini finish the season with a school-record nine tournament titles including the program's fourth consecutive NCAA Regional title and its seventh Big Ten Championship title in the past eight seasons. Illinois has finished among the top-5 in the country in each of the last four seasons.
"I thought Oregon played great," head coach Mike Small said. "They made a lot of shots from off the green, they knew what they were doing and where to go. They made a lot of putts and you have to do that in a short match like this."
It all came down to the final two matches on Tuesday evening, as the Illini were vying for a spot in the Final match on Wednesday. Senior Thomas Detry again put the first point on the board for the Orange and Blue as he defeated Oregon's Thomas Lim, 5 & 3. Starting out all square, Detry went 1-up on the second hole of the match and never looked back.
Oregon squared the match, however as Edwin Yi defeated freshman Edoardo Lipparelli 5 & 4, also taking an early lead in the match. Sophomore Nick Hardy fought back from an early deficit against Oregon's Zach Foushee, however Foushee pulled back into the lead to take the match 5 & 3.
Sophomore Dylan Meyer got off to an early advantage against NCAA Individual Champion Aaron Wise as he was 2-up through 10 holes. Wise began to turn things around, however, squaring up the match by the 14th hole. He took the lead on 15, but Meyer wouldn't let it stick. He came through in the clutch, chipping in on the 17th hole to go 1-up in the match and start to shift the momentum in Illinois' favor.
"Dylan has got the potential," Small said of Meyer's 1-up victory over Wise. "When he brings it like this, he's very, very good and I'm proud of him for that. I'm proud of the way he came back from this morning and played like a winner."
Things were getting exciting as senior Charlie Danielson started the round trailing Sulman Raza. Danielson squared things up quickly and pulled ahead to a lead. He was 1-up through eight holes before Raza again squared the match at the turn. Raza took the lead on the 13th hole, but Danielson came back to square the match on No. 15.
With Meyer now in the lead, it all came down to the 18th hole. Oregon's Raza secured the Ducks' victory, and they will advance to face Texas in the Championship Final.
"When you finish third in the country and are ranked among the top three all year and are disappointed at the end of the season, I think it shows a lot for the program. This is one of the best seasons the program has ever had, and all of these kids are a big part of it."
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Illinois men's golf.
