MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 5-ranked Fighting Illini captured the team title at the Hal Williams Collegiate in impressive fashion on Tuesday, closing with team's lowest round of the season to pull away for a 13-stroke victory.

"I thought we played very well from tee to green, and that carried throughout our entire game," said head coach Mike Small of the team's championship effort to open the spring schedule. "It was very solid from the start. It was a solid team effort all week, and it was great to finish off a tournament like we did today. It's always important to come out and push out in the last round if you have a lead. I was very proud of the guys for doing that. We gave very few shots back today."  

The Illini finished with a 54-hole total of 816 (-36), capped by a closing 270 (-14), to notch the fourth-lowest 54-hole team score in program history and the team's best mark in four seasons since posting a 215 (-37) at the 2019 Hawkeye Invitational.  

"This shows us what this team can do," added Small. "It was a productive week. They've worked hard the last two or three weeks - we've done a lot of training, and I was happy with the way they came out and played confidently, and played very efficient golf. Today, the way we came down the stretch, we combined for just one bogey over our last six holes to close out the tournament, was impressive."

All five Illini in the scoring lineup finished inside the top 12 of the 84-player field, but it was the adjustments and the resulting final-round scores by fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl and sophomore Jackson Buchanan, that sparked the Illini's decisive finish.

"We had a lot of really good individual performances," said Small. "They all played solid golf all week. Tommy made some adjustments and had a great last round. I told him and Jackson, when you're trying to win a team event, and you have individuals come out and shoot those eraser scores that we talk about - two of those - is a big deal. And that's why we pulled away today. So for Tommy to do that and finish second, and for Jackson to finish fourth, and both of them come from behind, was good to see. In team golf, you need that."   

Kuhl's closing 65(-6) tied his career-low for a single-round, and helped him climb nine spots up the individual leaderboard into grab a share of second, the first runner-up finish of his collegiate career. He finished at 203 (-10), also setting a career-best 54-hole mark during his time as an Illini. Likewise, Buchanan shots a closing 66 (-5), his lowest in a three-round collegiate event, and bested his career-low tournament tally by seven strokes with a 205 (-8) to match the total of fifth-year senior Matthis Besard (68-68-69).

Adrien Dumont de Chassart finished one stroke behind Buchanan and Besard in a tie for sixth place, while junior Piercen Hunt finished one shot outside of the top 10 in a tie for 12^th.

Individual competitors Nico Lang (T19) and Jerry Ji (T25) gave the Illini seven golfers inside the top 25 on the individual leaderboard, while freshman Ryan Voois closed his Illinois debut tied for 63^rd. 

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The Illini return to the course on Feb. 26-28 with a tough test at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, in Las Vegas, Nev. The event, hosted by UNLV, annually draws a strong field of championship-caliber programs to test themselves on a challenging desert track.