May 4, 2010

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Illinois won its second consecutive Big Ten title over the weekend. On Tuesday, The Illini picked up some individual hardware. Junior Scott Langley (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) was named Big Ten Player of the Year while head coach Mike Small earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. The Illini landed three of the six players on the All-Big Ten First Team with junior Chris DeForest (Cottekill, N.Y./Rondout Valley H.S.) and sophomore Luke Guthrie (Quincy, Ill/Quincy H.S.) joining Langley on that team. Senior Zach Barlow (Percy, Ill./Trico H.S.) was named to the All-Big Ten second team while fellow senior Matt Hoffman (Thornhill, Ontario/St. Robert Catholic H.S.) was Illinois' representative on the Big Ten Sportsmanship Team. This year marks the first time that Illinois has garnered three First Team All-Big Ten honorees in the same season.

This is the third conference coach of the year honor for Small, having also claimed that distinction in both 2002 and 2009. Small, who helped the Illini win a Big Ten Championship as a player in 1988 now has done so twice as a coach. The Illini have had some near misses in Small's 10 seasons with runner-up finishes in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and a third-place showing in 2008. The Illini have won 16 tournament titles in the last three seasons, including six titles in 2009-10. Small has now led Illinois to the NCAA Regional for the sixth time in the last nine seasons and will be looking for its fifth NCAA Finals appearance in his tenure.

Langley, the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is the highest ranked Big Ten Player in both the Golfweek (29th) and Golfstat (32nd) rankings this season. The 2009 All-American had six top-10 finishes, including second at the Wolf Run Invitational and at the LA Classics Invitational. He posted 10 under-par and 13 even-par rounds en route to a 71.59 season stroke average.

DeForest edged Langley for the Les Bolstad Award, given to the best stroke average in the conference. DeForest posted a 71.54 stroke average, including a 70.68 average during the spring. He won three of the last four tournaments of the regular season - the FAU Spring Break Championship, the Crooked Stick Invitational and the Boilermaker Invitational, giving him four titles for his career. DeForest tied for 10th at the Big Ten Championship. He chipped in for eagle on the 13th hole of the final round to help the Illini hold on for their second straight Big Ten title as a team. DeForest earned four Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors while his season average would rank as the best in school history.

Guthrie has been a model of consistency, culminating in a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship after rounds of 71-70-74-71. The native of Quincy, Ill., had eight rounds under par and six even par rounds and has just two rounds over 75 on the season. Guthrie has seven top-20 finishes, including three top 10s, and has a 72.71 season stroke average.

Barlow helped give Illinois the cushion it needed at the Big Ten Championship, bolting to the lead after 36 holes. The senior finished in a tie for seventh, giving him four top-10 finishes on the season. He tied for fourth at the Boilermaker Invitational and tied for fifth at the FAU Spring Break Championship.

Along with Barlow, Hoffman has been a major player into Illinois' resurgence, spending the past three seasons in the post-season line-up. He was posted two top-10 finishes - a tie for ninth at the Windon Memorial and a tie for fourth at the Boilermaker Invitational in 2009 and 2010.