URBANA, Ill. – Fighting Illini sophomore Ryan Voois closed out the first victory of his collegiate career in wire-to-wire fashion on Sunday at Atkins Golf Club, leading the No. 18-ranked Illinois program in defense of its team title at the second-annual Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate, the final event of the team's regular-season schedule.
"He hasn't been in this position much before," head coach Mike Small said of Voois. "He's a sophomore on paper, but he's really a freshman because he didn't play much last year on that stacked team that we had, so he's learning as he goes."
Voois' 54-hole tally of 212 (-1) was the only under-par score for the weekend, and after carding a career-low and tournament-record score of 64 (-7) in Round 1 and a 76 (+4) in Round 2, he did just enough in Round 3 – with a 1-over 72 – to finish one stroke ahead of runner-up Ashton McCulloch of Michigan State (213).
"I was anxious to see what he had today, after yesterday, because he played really well in the morning - didn't miss a shot and had a so-so round in the afternoon," Small added. "I wanted to see how he could put that behind him, and he did a really job of coming out on point today. I'm happy for him. Now he's got his first win, and hopefully he can begin winning bigger and better events."
Freshman Max Herendeen and junior Jackson Buchanan also contributed top-10 scores to the Illini lineup behind Voois. Buchanan matched Voois' 1-over 72 in Round 3 to close his weekend in a tie for seventh overall at 217 (+4). It marked his seventh top-10 finish in 10 stroke play events this season. Herendeen, who entered Sunday as the individual co-leader with Voois, shot a final round of 74 (+3) to finish two shots off the pace in a tie for third. It was second-career top five and his best individual finish since a runner-up via playoff in the team's season-opening win at the Sahalee Players Championship in September.
Fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke rounded out the scoring for the Illini in Round 3. He carded a 3-over 74 to move up nine spots into a tie for 53rd with a three-round total of 234 (+21). Freshman Ethan Wilson's finished tied for 26th at 224 (+11), but his final-round score of 77 (+6) did not factor into the Illini scoring in Round 3.
"This is the same lineup we've had for the last several events because we're trying to find some consistency and solid play," Small said. "We didn't close like we want to close ... but we had a good enough lead and we held on. As it has been all year, when we find that consistency, we will be a solid team."
The victory marked the fourth win of the season for the Fighting Illini behind a team score of 864 (+12) to finish ahead of a trio of Big Ten challengers in Michigan State (874), Michigan (881), and Northwestern (883).
The Illini also earned additional top-10 finishes from a trio of individual competitors. Timmy Crawford tied for third at 216 (+3), one shot ahead of Jerry Ji and Piercen Hunt who matched Buchanan in a three-way tie for seventh at 217 (+4).
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini tee off April 26-28 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, for the 2024 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship. The Orange and Blue are in search of their ninth-consecutive conference title, their 14th in the last 15 league championships dating back to the 2008-09 season, and the 21st in program history.
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