Final Stats 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Fighting Illini men's golf will make its 10th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships May 26-31 after a third-place finish at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional. The Illini used a late run to climb the leaderboard at Kampen Course (7,411-yards, Par 72), finishing the day 6-over par for a three-round tally of 14-over. 

Junior Nick Hardy (-3) led the way for Illinois, posting consecutive birdies on Wednesday's back nine to finish the round at 2-under par. Hardy earned co-medalist honors, becoming the fourth NCAA Regional medalist in school history. 

"We've qualified for the national championship every different way you can imagine for the last 10 years," head coach Mike Small said. "This was unique because we were treading water for a day-and-a-half and struggling. I feel that the golf course helped us because it's so difficult coming in. We handled those last five holes with some strength today and finished them off with no doubles. It feels great that we persevered through a sluggish day-and-a-half." 

Battling very windy conditions, Hardy led the final charge for the Illini. He made birdie on holes 14 and 15 before finishing even through the last three holes. He shot even par on the front nine, using an early birdie to negate one bogey. Hardy shared medalist honors with New Mexico's Andrej Bevins, who also closed the tournament at 3-under par. 

"I feel like the Illini Golf way is finding a way to get it done, no matter what, no matter the conditions," Hardy said. "Every team that's come through in the past decade has found a way to get it done at the toughest moments. If we wanted to be that team that has done that for the past 10 years, we had to be that team. It was definitely not easy out there today, and it took a team effort. Everyone needed to believe that we could do it."

Sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli and freshman Giovanni Tadiotto joined Hardy among the top 25 individuals on the leaderboard as the two tied for 17th overall with total scores 6-over par. Tadiotto closed the final round 2-over par, registering three birdies. Lipparelli shot 3-over for the final round, adding two birdies of his own.

"On this golf course you can never give up, you can never, ever feel sorry for yourself," Small said. "You never cash it in, because on those last few holes, anything can happen. We played them 8-over on the first day, but today we did a lot better in these conditions. You just never know out here."

Junior Dylan Meyer finished in 28th individually, also playing a large part in Illinois' final push. Meyer carded two birdies in the last four holes of the tournament. He shot 3-over par Wednesday for a total of 8-over. 

Freshman Michael Feagles (+19) was 7-over par in the final round and finished in 71st individually.

"We're excited about [nationals}," said Small. "We need to keep ourselves light, yet accountable. We need to have fun with it, yet be on-point with our preparation. Up there, if we have these down stretches, it's not going to help us at all. I think the energy from the fans will help us."

UNLV (+8) earned the regional title, while Auburn (+11) finished as the runner-up. New Mexico (+16) and Purdue (+18) also qualified out of West Lafayette.

The NCAA Championships are slated for May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. The tournament consists of three days of stroke play May 26-28 (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play May 29 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. 

The team national champion will be determined by an eight-team match-play tournament May 30-31. Quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for May 30, followed by the finals May 31.

The NCAA Championships will air live on the Golf Channel, beginning Monday, May 29 to crown the individual national champion, as well as to track the teams attempting to qualify for the eight-team match-play tournament. Golf Channel's coverage also will include all three rounds of the team match-play tournament.

Fans wishing to attend the NCAA Golf Championships can click here for ticket and lodging information. 

Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.

The #Illini will advance to the NCAA Championship for the 10th consecutive season! pic.twitter.com/ftKjKBjj0i

— Illini M Golf (@IlliniMGolf) May 17, 2017

Congratulations to @NickHardy8 who earned co-Medalist honors at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional! pic.twitter.com/Mpb8byxa94

— Illini M Golf (@IlliniMGolf) May 17, 2017