March 15, 2005

Naples, Fla. - The Fighting Illini moved up one place in the team standings today behind a final-round score of 286 to finish in third place at the Lexus Naples Intercollegiate, held at the par 72 Hammock Bay Golf and Country Club in Naples, Fla. Illinois took third with a 54-hole total of 863, finishing 1-under par as a team for the tournament.

This ties Illinois' best tournament finish of the 2004-05 season, along with a third-place performance at the Northern Intercollegiate last fall. St. Mary's won the 12-team Lexus Naples Intercollegiate with a score of 845 (-19), defeating Baylor by two strokes (847, -17).

The Illini had two golfers finish in the Top 10. Sophomore Kyle Hosick, competing in his first tournament with the Orange and Blue after transferring from Southern Illinois at the semester break, led the Illini by tying for third place in the 60-player field at 5-under par. Hosick shot rounds of 71-70-70, good for a 54-hole total of 211. He finished just three strokes behind medalist Liam Kendregan of St. Mary's, who posted a winning score of 8-under par 208.

Senior Garrett Chaussard tied for seventh place at 2-under par, shooting rounds of 74-70-69 for a total of 213. This is the fifth Top-10 finish for Chaussard this season, and his 3-under 69 in today's final round ranks as the lowest score by a UI golfer this spring.

Freshman Danny Zimmerman also finished in the Top 20, tying for 17th place at 2-over par. Zimmerman recorded rounds of 76-72-70 for a total score of 218 strokes.

Illinois is next in action April 8-10 at the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate in Auburn, Ala.

Lexus Naples Intercollegiate Final Team Standings
1.   St. Mary's           290-283-272=845
2.   Baylor               287-284-276=847
3.   ILLINOIS             293-284-286=863
T4.  Marquette            288-291-294-873
T4.  Wisconsin            290-288-295=873
6.   Portland             279-295-305=879
7.   Fresno State         295-296-293=884
8.   Florida Gulf Coast   313-292-291=896
9.   Akron                305-295-302=902
10.  Eastern Illinois     306-295-302=903
11.  Delaware             313-317-317=947
12.  Navy                 326-311-317=954

Illinois Results
T3.  Kyle Hosick          71-70-70=211    -5
T7.  Garrett Chaussard    74-70-69=213    -3
T17. Danny Zimmerman      76-72-70=218    +2
T26. Andy Mack            72-72-79=223    +7
T45. Mike O'Neal          78-77-77=232    +16