Jan. 28, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois defeated the Illinois State men’s golf team 7-2 at the Tinervin Cup on Saturday at the 7,038-yard, par-71 Coral Creek Club in Placida, Fla. The victory gave the Illini their ninth straight Tinervin Cup win.
Despite the loss, head men’s golf coach Ray Kralis was satisfied at the competitiveness his squad showed against the perennial Big Ten power.
“We knew we had to play at the top of our game here, and I was glad to see some real close matches,” said Kralis. “We don’t like defeat, but we’re taking a lot of things from the match that have me encouraged going forward. In particular, Wils Hawn was extremely solid, and I really liked his shots throughout the day. His effort really stood out playing against a tough opponent in Illinois’ Thomas Pieters. Matt Solis was another who played really well, and it was great to see his and Eric Meier’s efforts rewarded with those victories in the afternoon. We hit a lot of good shots as a team, and we’re taking a lot of positives moving forward.”
Illinois swept the three morning fourball matches. In the first group, Illinois’ Pieters and Brian Campbell defeated the Redbirds’ Hawn and Jordan Fahel. In the second group, the Illini’s Mason Jacobs and Jonathan Hauter came out ahead of ISU’s duo of Solis and Meier. In the final group, the Redbirds’ Ricky Hearden and Parker Freiburg fell to Illinois’ Luke Guthrie and Alex Burge.
In the afternoon singles matches, wind conditions at the course changed, making things more challenging for the golfers. Solis and Meier would earn Illinois State’s two points, by defeating Jacobs and Hauter, respectively. For Illinois, Pieters beat Hawn, Guthrie bested Hearden, Campbell outshot Fahel and Burge defeated Freiburg.
The Redbirds will return to action on Feb. 13, when they participate at The Match Play in Orlando, Fla.
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