University of Illinois
Big Ten Championships
Illini Place Second at Big Ten Championships
May 9, 2004 | Men's Golf
May 9, 2004
Ann Arbor, Mich. - Illinois played its best round of golf of the year today during the final round of the 2004 Big Ten Championships, held at the par 71, 6,704-yard University of Michigan Golf Course. In doing so, the Illini moved up one place in the team standings to finish second in the conference for the third straight year.
The Illini shot a season-low round of 7-under par 277 in today's third round, which was also the lowest round recorded by any team throughout the Championships. The Illini finished as runner-up with a three-round total of 5-under par 847, marking the fifth best 54-hole team score in school history.
The Illini entered the day in third place, trailing Ohio State by 12 strokes and Minnesota by four. Thanks to its stellar round, Illinois finished just five strokes behind league champion Ohio State (842) and moved past Minnesota to capture second place, defeating the Gophers (848) by one stroke.
"We came to play today and really played well," Head Coach Mike Small said. "To shoot 7-under on the final day of the Championships says a lot about the character of our players and how competitive they are. It was a total team effort today, and now we can look forward to entering NCAA Regionals on a high note."
Senior Joe Affrunti and junior Mike O'Neal capped off successful weekends by tying for second place individually, along with Minnesota's Justin Smith. Affrunti and O'Neal entered the day tied for fourth place, and the duo added final-round scores of 69 to finish 3-under par with scores of 210. Ohio State's Kevin Hall took home medalist honors with a 14-under par total of 199, defeating the second place trio by 11 strokes.
The annual conference awards were announced at the conclusion of the tournament, and Affrunti garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors. Illinois' No. 1 player throughout the year, Affrunti has seven Top-10 finishes and has been the Illini's top finisher in six tournaments.
"There was a lot on the line, and everybody stepped up and played great," Affrunti said. "It was a lot of fun out there today. I think we're peaking as a team at the right time."
For O'Neal, it was a monumental weekend, marking the highest finish of his collegiate career, career-best round (67 in round one), career-best 54-hole score, and his first Top-10 finish since tying for 10th at the 2002 Big Ten Championships.
In addition to Affrunti and O'Neal, the Illini had a third player finish in the Top 10 in sophomore Patrick Nagle. Nagle tied for 10th place with a 1-over par total of 214, carding a 70 today. He also claimed second-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season.
Junior Garrett Chaussard matched Affrunti and O'Neal today with a score of 69. He finished tied for 17th at 3-over par (216). Rounding out the Illini lineup, senior Ryan Tendall tied for 34th with a 221.
Next up for Illinois is the NCAA Regional Championships, which will be held May 20-22. The Illini find out which of the three regionals they will be competing in tomorrow afternoon during an announcement by the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee.
Big Ten Championships - Final Team Standings 1. Ohio State 279-279-284=842 2. ILLINOIS 279-291-277=847 3. Minnesota 287-279-282=848 4. Purdue 287-289-284=860 5. Indiana 286-291-288=865 6. Penn State 291-285-293=869 T7. Michigan 297-292-282=871 T7. Northwestern 292-288-291=871 9. Iowa 295-288-290=873 10. Michigan State 287-293-296=876 11. Wisconsin 299-300-298=897Top 10 Individuals 1. Kevin Hall Ohio State 66-65-68=199 -14 T2. Joe Affrunti Illinois 69-72-69=210 -3 T2. Mike O'Neal Illinois 67-74-69=210 -3 T2. Justin Smith Minnesota 68-70-72=210 -3 T5. Bronson La'Cassie Minnesota 73-68-70=211 -2 T5. David Morgan Minnesota 76-67-68=211 -2 T7. Luke Epp Purdue 71-72-70=213 E T7. Andrew Ruthkoski Michigan State 69-71-73=213 E T7. Brett Williams Ohio State 67-74-72=213 E T10. Patrick Nagle Illinois 70-74-70=214 +1 T10. Kevin Dore Michigan 73-73-68=214 +1 T10. Dillon Dougherty Northwestern 73-69-72-214 +1
Illinois Results T2. Joe Affrunti 69-72-69=210 -3 T2. Mike O'Neal 67-74-69=210 -3 T10. Patrick Nagle 70-74-70=214 +1 T17. Garrett Chaussard 73-74-69=216 +3 T34. Ryan Tendall 77-71-73=221 +8
2004 BIG TEN AWARDS
First Team All-Big Team
Joe Affrunti, Illinois
Kevin Hall, Ohio State
Shiv Kapur, Purdue
Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
Jeff Overton, Indiana
Justin Smith, Minnesota
Second Team All-Big Ten
Ben Greve, Minnesota
Tom Johnson, Northwestern
David Morgan, Minnesota
Patrick Nagle, Illinois
Heath Peters, Indiana
Peter Richardson, Purdue
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
Big Ten Player of the Year
Jeff Overton, Indiana
Big Ten Coach of the Year
Jim Brown, Ohio State
Les Bolstad Award Winner (low season stroke average)
Jeff Overton, Indiana (70.38)
