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PALM COAST, Florida – The Fighting Illini men's golf team finished third at the 2019 Big Ten Match Play Championship on Saturday afternoon. Battling windy conditions at Hammock Beach Resort, the Orange and Blue defeated Nebraska 5-1 to secure third place after falling, 3.5-2.5, to Ohio State in the semifinal round of play. Freshman Adrien Dumont de Chassart had a strong day for Illinois, earning two individual victories on the day.

"This was a beneficial trip because we learned where our games are and what improvements we need to make in the coming weeks," head coach Mike Small said of the tournament. "Ohio state played well this morning, they handled the tough conditions better than we were able to. This afternoon, we regrouped and played well against Nebraska. We closed out our matches and showed a total team effort."

Match 3: Ohio State 3.5, Illinois 2.5

After a victory over Michigan State in the quarterfinal round, the No. 1-seeded Illini took on the No. 4 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the semifinal round of play. Dumont de Chassart earned the first point of the match for the Orange and Blue, defeating Ohio State's Caleb Ramirez, 5 and 4. The Illini freshman posted a birdie on his first hole to go 1-up and never looked back. Sophomore Brendan O'Reilly also earned a point for Illinois with a 1-up victory over Will Voetsch. Junior Bryan Baumgarten halved his match against Ohio State's Laken Hinton. Ohio State's Kaleb Stone, Daniel Wetterich and Will Grimmer earned 4 and 3 victories over Illini Noah Gillard, Giovanni Tadiotto and Michael Feagles, respectively.

Match 4: Illinois 5, Nebraska 1

The Illini took on No. 14 seed, Nebraska, in the third-place match on Sunday afternoon. The Illini were strong to finish the tournament, earning a 5-1 win over the Huskers. Dumont de Chassart once again started his round with a birdie for the Orange and Blue to take an early lead over Nebraska's Jay Cottam. The match was squared on the second hole, but Dumont de Chassart used steady play to pull back into the lead and earn a 4 and 3 win.

Freshman Tommy Kuhl also earned a 4 and 3 win, defeating Nebraska's Mitchell Klooz. Klooz pulled ahead of Kuhl early in the match, but the Illini freshman used an early eagle and a birdie to close in and take over the advantage in his match. Feagles continued to put points on the board for Illinois with a 3 and 2 win over Tanner Owen. Tadiotto topped Nebraska's Jace Guthmiller 2 and 1 on the day, while Baumgarten also earned a 2 and 1 win over Jackson Wendling. Baumgarten trailed early in his final match, but used consecutive birdies to square things up. He remained  steady to close the match, and secured his victory with a birdie on his final hole.  

THE TOURNAMENT

The Big Ten Match Play Championship featured a single-elimination bracket format, with seeds determined using the final fall Golfstat rankings. Each team match consisted of six individual matches. The Illini earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament field, receiving a first-round bye. No. 2-seeded Northwestern also received a bye into the quarterfinal round. Held February 8-9, the event welcomed all 14 Big Ten men's golf teams to Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. Hammock Beach Resort features two courses, the Ocean Course (Par 72, 7,201-yards) and the Conservatory Course (Par 72, 7,776 yards). 

The event will air on the Big Ten Network March 2 at 10:30 a.m. CT.  

NEXT UP

Illinois is set to travel to Lafayette, Louisiana for the Louisiana Classics February 25-26. The Orange and Blue took second at last year's Louisiana Classics, posting a team total 21-under par. Five Illini finished among the top 20 in last year's event, led by then-sophomore Bryan Baumgarten who tied for third with a total score 6-under par.

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