Semifinal results vs. Oklahoma | Quarterfinal Results vs. USC

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. -- After reaching the NCAA Men's Golf Championship semifinal match for the third consecutive season, the No. 3-seeded Fighting Illini concluded their season with a 3-1-1 loss to No. 2-seeded Oklahoma. The Sooners move on to Wednesday's national championship match to face 2016 NCAA Champion, Oregon.

Illinois appeared in the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years, tying Oregon for the most top-four showings since the NCAA switched to the match-play format for the top eight teams. The Illini made their 10th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships, and advanced to match play for the fifth-straight year, the sixth appearance in the last seven seasons. Illinois earns its third consecutive third-place finish at the national championship, and their fifth consecutive finish among the top five. 

"The course was tough, we didn't play like we have been playing," head coach Mike Small said of the semifinal. "We've had those days all year, they sneak in there, but I think the nerves got to us. We've got two freshmen that have never seen this before. We're on national television, we've got big crowds and we're on a tough golf course. It's been pretty stressful for those guys and I think they handled it well all week."

Illinois advanced to the semifinal match with an early morning quarterfinal victory over USC, 3-1-1. Illinois clinched the match by taking the first three matches, 1-up. Sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli, Tadiotto and Hardy were the first three out on the course and the first three in with victories for the Orange and Blue. Lipparelli took an early lead in his match against USC's Sean Crocker and never trailed. In his first match play appearance for the Illini, Tadiotto also got off to an early lead in his match, but Andrew Levitt battled back to take the lead and go 2-up over the Illini freshman. Taditotto squared the match on the third hole (the match started on the back nine), and took his final lead on the eighth hole. Hardy fought back to earn the win in his match as USC's Rico Hoey went 2-up early on. Hardy squared the match on his sixth hole, and took his final lead on his 14th hole. 

In the afternoon semifinal, the Sooners led in four matches for most of the round. For the Illini, Meyer went 1-up on his second hole and worked to maintain his lead throughout the day. He was 3-up at the turn, and never trailed in the match. Nick Hardy turned his match around to take a 2-hole lead on OU's Grant Hirschman on No. 14 and Giovanni Tadiotto pulled within one hole of Max McGreevy on No. 15. With one Oklahoma win already in the clubhouse, and Meyer seemingly in control on the back nine, the large contingent of Illini fans in attendance started to feel the momentum swing in favor of an Illini rally. That stalled when Oklahoma's McGreevy and Rylee Reinertson both won the 17th hole to clinch the match. Meyer was the lone Illini to earn a win, as he was 1-up when the Sooners clinched the match.

"We're going to come back next year, we're going to be stronger and more experienced," Meyer said. "We're not going to sit here and dwell on what just happened, we're going to be focused on what we have coming up next." 

"I think we had a great season," Hardy said. "We learned a lot. We have grown so much as a team since when we came in at the beginning of the year."

The Illini won five regular season tournaments this season, including three consecutive wins to start the fall slate and the program's second-straight East Lake Cup title. Three Illini earned individual titles this season as junior Nick Hardy, and freshman Giovanni Tadiotto took home medalist honors in the fall season and junior Dylan Meyer won three consecutive titles in the spring. Illinois won its third-straight Big Ten Championship title and the seventh in the last eight seasons to open post season play, and Meyer became Illinois' 19th Big Ten Championship medalist. 

"The fun is the journey, it really is," Small said. "To get this close, it is tough not to win, but I'm not going to get hung up on that. What I am going to take away from this event, being in Chicago, is the fans, the way they treated the other teams, the way they treated our guys. The response the fans got from the Golf Channel, it was really cool. They were awesome. There have never been consistent crowds like this at the national championship, and that speaks volumes for Illini nation and Illini golf. Would we love to give them a win, yes. But this was a young team that overachieved. This has been a great year. I'm proud of the guys."

A young squad, the Illini will return five of six players for the 2017-18 campaign. Meyer and Hardy will return for their senior seasons joined by Bryan Baumgarten, Tadiotto and Feagles. The Orange and Blue will welcome freshmen Brendan O'Reilly and Varun Chopra next season, replacing sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli who is set to turn pro this summer.