KETTERING, Ohio. – No. 8-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf finished second as a team, and freshman Dujuan Snyman – competing as an individual – posted the best result of his young collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the Moraine Intercollegiate at Moraine Country Club.
Snyman closed in a tie with five players that finished two shots behind medalist Cayse Morgan of Xavier.
Behind Snyman's career-best tournament score of 206 (-7), which included a season-low tally of 66 (-5) in Round 2, four members of the Illini lineup secured top-20 finishes.
Sophomore Freddie Turnell, in his second consecutive event in the Illini lineup, also carded a season-low score of 207 (-6). After opening with rounds of 70 (-1) and 69 (-2) on Monday, Turnell closed out the event with a season-best 68 (-3) to jump 12 spots up the leaderboard and notch his first top 10 as an Illini.
Senior Ryan Voois finished two shots behind Turnell in a tie for 13th at 209 (-4), his 15th top-15 finish as an Illini. Junior Max Herendeen and sophomore Trey Marrion tied for 18th at 210 (-3) to continue the strong starts to each of their campaigns with top-20 finishes.
Marrion, who carded three straight rounds of 70 (-1) was the only other Illini, besides Turnell, to finish with a red number in the final round. Herendeen's even-par 71 in Round 3 rounded out the final-round team score 282 (-2) for the Illini.
As a team, the Orange and Blue (-17) came up three shots shy of the pace set by Xavier (-20), but moved ahead of Missouri (-16) for the solo second-place finish. Behind the Tigers, Rhode Island (-11) and VCU (-10) finished fourth and fifth in the team race, respectively, and the Illini added a 12-1 mark to their season head-to-head record, which now stands at 38-4-0 (.905).
The fifth member of the Illini lineup, junior Dane Huddleston, finished T32 with a score of 214 (+1).
Two other individuals – sophomore Jake Birdwell and junior Ethan Wilson – were also in action. Birdwell, who carded a career-best round of 66 (-5) on Monday afternoon, finished T24 with a three-round total of 212 (-1), his fifth-career top-25 finish and his first of the season. Wilson finished tied with Huddleston at 214 (+1), setting season-best marks for a single round (1-under 70 in Rounds 1 and 2) and tournament.
Up Next
The Illini have a quick turnaround before heading to the Gulf Coast to compete in the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational at Beau Rivage Resort in Saucier, Miss., for the second straight season. Last year, behind a medalist performance from All-American Jackson Buchanan, the Illini posted a T2 team finish at the event co-hosted by Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss.
