Champaign, Ill. - The No. 1-ranked Illinois Men's Golf team begins its fall season on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Northern Intercollegiate, hosted by Northern Illinois University.
The 54-hole tournament will be held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., which boasts a 7,151-yard, Par 72 course. In addition to hosting several prestigious events this spring, Rich Harvest Farms will be the site of the 2017 NCAA Mens' and Women's Golf Championships.
Illinois will be joined by two other teams ranked in the Golfweek/Bushnell Preseason Coaches Poll, including No. 7 UCLA and No. 24 Virginia. Also competing among the tournament field will be Ball State, Houston, Indiana, Lousiville, Marquette, New Mexico State, Purdue, Toledo, UCF and Winthrop. The Illini will play 36-holes on Saturday, followed by 18 holes on Sunday.
Illinois will feature an experienced lineup this weekend including four returners who helped Illinois win the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships last season.
"I have five veterans playing," head coach Mike Small said of the weekend's lineup. "Five guys who have played, at one time, either in the National Championship finals or semifinals. We've got some experience there."
Returning for the Illini are seniors Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry, in addition to sophomores Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer. Joining those four in the weekend's lineup will be redshirt senior Alex Burge, who had a successful summer that included winning the 2015 CDGA Amateur Championship. Burge has played in three of Illinois' National Championship appearances.
Freshman Edoardo Lipparelli will get his first look at collegiate golf on Saturday, as he will represent the Illini as an individual. A native of Italy, Lipparelli brings with him an Italian Men's National Championship medal.
"I think the team is excited to get on the road to play against some of their friends at other schools," head coach Mike Small said of the start to the season. "They're ready to get out and play against some of the top competition on different golf courses."
The Illini will stay close to home at the beginning of the season, also heading to Olympia Fields, Ill. to host the OFCC/Illini Invitational beginning on Sept. 18. The event will welcome some of the nation's top teams to one of the nation's best golf courses. Olympia Fields Country Club, which is home to several premier events including the 2015 U.S. Amateur. The club has hosted two U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, five Western Opens and a U.S. Senior Open among other high-level tournaments.
October then sees the Illini heading to Indiana University's Crooked Stick Invitational (Oct. 12-13). It will be the program's first appearance in the tournament since the 2009-10 season when Illini Chris DeForest took home the individual title.
Small expects his team to strive not just for success on the course this fall season, but to continue to develop a strong team mentality.
"As a team, I want this group to pick up the momentum where they left off last year," Small said. "I also want them to incorporate the younger guys; get them thinking, acting, believing, and absorbed into the program like the older guys are, like Illinois golf is supposed to be. That's a big part of the fall, getting the younger guys acclimated."
In addition to traveling for tournament play, the Illini spend their days out on the course practicing with each other and also competing against one another.
"I expect our competition and the spots on our team to be fluid all year," Small said of the lineup this season. "That is the sign of a healthy program and a healthy group of guys. They are competing against each other, yet supporting each other and trying to get into that lineup."
With a No. 1 preseason ranking awarded to the team by the nation's coaches, the Illini look to build upon the successes of the program this season, and that will begin this Saturday at the Northern Intercollegiate.
"That's a testament to where we've come as a program over the last eight or nine years," Small said of the Golfweek/Bushnell Preseason Coaches Poll.
Illinois will play in five fall tournaments this season, closing the fall slate out at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Fla. (Oct. 18-20), and the East Lake Cup in Atlanta, Georgia (Nov. 2-3).
Keep checking in to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Fighting Illini Men's Golf as the team begins its fall slate.
The 54-hole tournament will be held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., which boasts a 7,151-yard, Par 72 course. In addition to hosting several prestigious events this spring, Rich Harvest Farms will be the site of the 2017 NCAA Mens' and Women's Golf Championships.
Illinois will be joined by two other teams ranked in the Golfweek/Bushnell Preseason Coaches Poll, including No. 7 UCLA and No. 24 Virginia. Also competing among the tournament field will be Ball State, Houston, Indiana, Lousiville, Marquette, New Mexico State, Purdue, Toledo, UCF and Winthrop. The Illini will play 36-holes on Saturday, followed by 18 holes on Sunday.
Illinois will feature an experienced lineup this weekend including four returners who helped Illinois win the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships last season.
"I have five veterans playing," head coach Mike Small said of the weekend's lineup. "Five guys who have played, at one time, either in the National Championship finals or semifinals. We've got some experience there."
Returning for the Illini are seniors Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry, in addition to sophomores Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer. Joining those four in the weekend's lineup will be redshirt senior Alex Burge, who had a successful summer that included winning the 2015 CDGA Amateur Championship. Burge has played in three of Illinois' National Championship appearances.
Freshman Edoardo Lipparelli will get his first look at collegiate golf on Saturday, as he will represent the Illini as an individual. A native of Italy, Lipparelli brings with him an Italian Men's National Championship medal.
"I think the team is excited to get on the road to play against some of their friends at other schools," head coach Mike Small said of the start to the season. "They're ready to get out and play against some of the top competition on different golf courses."
The Illini will stay close to home at the beginning of the season, also heading to Olympia Fields, Ill. to host the OFCC/Illini Invitational beginning on Sept. 18. The event will welcome some of the nation's top teams to one of the nation's best golf courses. Olympia Fields Country Club, which is home to several premier events including the 2015 U.S. Amateur. The club has hosted two U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, five Western Opens and a U.S. Senior Open among other high-level tournaments.
October then sees the Illini heading to Indiana University's Crooked Stick Invitational (Oct. 12-13). It will be the program's first appearance in the tournament since the 2009-10 season when Illini Chris DeForest took home the individual title.
Small expects his team to strive not just for success on the course this fall season, but to continue to develop a strong team mentality.
"As a team, I want this group to pick up the momentum where they left off last year," Small said. "I also want them to incorporate the younger guys; get them thinking, acting, believing, and absorbed into the program like the older guys are, like Illinois golf is supposed to be. That's a big part of the fall, getting the younger guys acclimated."
In addition to traveling for tournament play, the Illini spend their days out on the course practicing with each other and also competing against one another.
"I expect our competition and the spots on our team to be fluid all year," Small said of the lineup this season. "That is the sign of a healthy program and a healthy group of guys. They are competing against each other, yet supporting each other and trying to get into that lineup."
With a No. 1 preseason ranking awarded to the team by the nation's coaches, the Illini look to build upon the successes of the program this season, and that will begin this Saturday at the Northern Intercollegiate.
"That's a testament to where we've come as a program over the last eight or nine years," Small said of the Golfweek/Bushnell Preseason Coaches Poll.
Illinois will play in five fall tournaments this season, closing the fall slate out at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Fla. (Oct. 18-20), and the East Lake Cup in Atlanta, Georgia (Nov. 2-3).
Keep checking in to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Fighting Illini Men's Golf as the team begins its fall slate.
