Eugene, Ore. – Fighting Illini men's golf advanced to the semifinal round of match play at the NCAA Championship for the third time in the last four seasons after a 4-1-0 victory over No. 7-seeded South Carolina on Tuesday. The No. 2 seed, Illinois is set to face No. 6 Oregon beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT. The match will be televised live on the Golf Channel.
South Carolina secured the first point of the day on Tuesday morning, as Illini sophomore Dylan Meyer dropped his match, 4 & 3. It didn't take long, however, for senior Thomas Detry to put one on the board for Illinois. Detry defeated his opponent, Keenan Huskey, 2 & 1, grabbing the lead in the match early on. Huskey squared things up on the fourth hole, but Detry again pulled ahead on the fifth hole, holding on to his advantage to the end.
Freshman Edoardo Lipparelli came through in the clutch for Illinois, defeating First-Team All-American and No. 8 ranked Matt NeSmith, 1-UP. Lipparelli battled throughout the day, as NeSmith took a one hole lead several times early. Lipparelli continued to square things up, before taking the lead on the 14th hole. The two were all-square through 15 holes, but Lipparelli came back to take the lead on No. 16 and finished out the match by halving Nos. 17 and 18.
In his second NCAA Match Play Quarterfinal appearance, sophomore Nick Hardy defeated South Carolina's Sean Kelly, 2 & 1, for the clinching third point. Hardy got off to a fast start on the day, going 3-UP through six holes. Kelly battled back to square up the match twice during the back nine, but Hardy took the final lead on the 16th hole and closed out the match on No. 17.
Senior Charlie Danielson, who was named a PING First-Team All-American during the quarterfinal match, finished the day 1-UP through 15 holes to set the final score at 4-1-0. Trailing early on, Danielson squared things up on the front nine before taking the lead at the turn.
The Illini will face the No. 6 seed Oregon Ducks in the semifinal match, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The Illini have now advanced to the match play semifinals for two consecutive seasons and three times in the past four years. No. 1-seeded Texas will also face No. 4 USC in the semifinals. The Championship Match is slated for 4:10 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 1.
Live scoring will be available on Golfstat, and fans can follow @IlliniMGolf on Twitter for even more live updates. The Championship is being held at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, which boasts a par 70, 7,014-yard course.
