TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 4 Fighting Illini men's golf team is in the hunt after 36 holes at the National Invitational Tournament behind a strong Day 1 effort by fifth-year senior Adrien Dumont de Chassart who is alone in sixth, three strokes off the lead, heading into Saturday's final round at OMNI Tucson National Golf Club.
The Illini carded team rounds of 280 and 285 to finish at 11-under, eight strokes behind 36-hole leader Southern California, and four strokes behind tournament host and 18th-ranked Arizona (-15). No. 3 Arizona State (-14) sits just ahead of the Illini who are followed by No. 12 Florida and New Mexico in a tie for fifth at 9-under.
Dumont de Chassart anchored the Illini throughout Friday's first two rounds, posting a combined nine birdies while tallying just a single bogey in Round 1, and a double-bogey late in Round 2, to sit just outside the top five, but within striking distance of the co-leaders Zach Pollo (Arizona) and Matthew Troutman (Oklahoma) who each shot 9-under individually.
Dumont de Chassart was one of three Illini to post a top-25 score through two rounds, along with fellow fifth-year seniors Tommy Kuhl and Matthis Besard who are tied for 21st at 142 (-2). Kuhl posted scoring numbers in each round with back-to-back tallies of 71. Besard's opening 72 did not factor into the team's total, but his Round 2 score of 2-unde 70 proved to be the lowest of Round 2 for the Orange and Blue.
Sophomore Jackson Buchanan shot 71-73 and is tied for 36th at 144 (E), while junior Piercen Hunt is tied for 45th after posting rounds of 71 and 74 to move to 1-over with 18 holes to play.
Three Illini are also competing as individuals this week. Freshman Ryan Voois posted back-to-back 74s and is tied for 64th at 148 (+4), followed by seniors Nico Lang (+5) and Jerry Ji (+6), tied for 66th and 73rd, respectively.
Round 3 is set to begin with tee times on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. CT/7:30 a.m. PT. The Illini, paired with the Gators and Lobos, will start off No. 1 as part of the second groupings on the course, beginning at 10:15 a.m. CT/8:15 a.m. PT. Live scoring is available throughout the final round on Golfstat.com.
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