Sept. 14, 2008
Complete Results in PDF Format 
Zionsville, Ind. -
Illinois battled windy conditions and a brief rain delay at Wolf Run Sunday. Paced by strong performances from sophomore Scott Langley and junior Matt Hoffman, the Illini moved up two spots to finish second at the Wolf Run Invitational in suburban Indianapolis.
"We didn't play the way are a capable as a team," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "Despite that, we showed some guts, battled the conditions and posted a respectable start to the season."
In finishing second out of 14 teams, Illinois thus goes 13-1 in head-to-head competition, an important factor used by the NCAA to determine its bids into the six regionals come May.
Langley was the story of the day, firing a two-under par 69 in the tough conditions, not only the low round of the day, but also the tournament. The sophomore moved up from a tie for 40th at the start of the day to finish ninth at 222. He sandwiched a 73 and a 69 with an 80 in round two Saturday.
Illinois also had the best score of the day as a team with a 294 to finish with at 890 for the tournament. Michigan won the event at 880 after shooting 300. The Illini led a gaggle of seven teams who scored between 890-900. The Illini bettered Louisville (891) by one stroke for that runner-up spot. Kentucky (895), Indiana (896), Ball State (897) and Eastern Michigan (899) all finished in the upper half of the 14-team field.
Besides Langley, the Illini got a solid day from junior Matt Hoffman, who shot a one-over par 72, giving him back-to-back rounds of 73-72. Hoffman tied junior teammate Zach Barlow (70-76-77) for 14th at 223, one stroke behind Langley, thus giving the Illini three players in the top 15. Sophomore Chris DeForest (228) and freshman Mason Jacobs (237) round out the Illinois competitors, finishing in ties for 31st and 55th, respectively.
Illinois hosts the Third Annual Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational Sept. 19-21.
"We have some issues to work on this week," Small said. "Our goal is two have some solid practices heading into Olympia Fields and hopefully put on a strong showing."
