Illini golfers head to NCAA finals again

Monday

May 28, 2012 at 12:01 AMMay 28, 2012 at 11:51 AM

John Supinie

The Illinois men's golf team will be losing one All-America soon, so coach Mike Small is reloading with another Belgian star to join countryman Thomas Pieters. 
A sophomore from Nijlen, Belgium, Pieters placed second in NCAA regional play to lead the Illini to a berth in the NCAA Championhips for a fifth straight season. 
There's a better shot for individual honors rather than team success when Illinois opens play Tuesday in 54-hole stroke play that will determine the individual national champion and the eight teams to qualify for the match play tournament that will crown the team titleist later in the week.  The team champion will be crowned Sunday. 
Guthrie and Pieters could contend for titles after Illinois' Scott Langley won the NCAA title two years ago.  Pieters became the first-ever Belgian selected to compete for the 2012 Palmer Cup, the annual Ryder Cup-style competition between the United States and Europe.  He was a recruiting victory for Small, who beat other traditional powers for Pieters more than two years ago. 
"You knew he could get this good,'' Small said. " It was a matter when it would happen.'' 
Small won the recruiting derby because "he was more of a dad figure'' than other recruiters, said Pieters, who finished 20th in the NCAAs last season. 
Thomas Detry, also from Nijlen, will join Pieters at Illinois next season.  He won the Belgium match play championship last summer. 
Illinois will have big spikeless shoes to fill after losing senior Luke Guthrie, the Quincy native who placed 13th last season at the NCAA finals last season and repeated as the Big Ten champion this spring.  He enters ranked No.  13 nationally after tying for seventh in regional play. 
Guthrie will turn pro immediately after the NCAAs and already qualified for U.S. Open sectional play.  He seeks a sponsor's exemption to the John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour stop in the Quad Cities.  A good week at the NCAAs would help his chances. 
One of six teams to reach the NCAA finals in each of the last five seasons, Illinois is seeded No.  24 among the 30 teams in the field and reached the quarterfinals in match play last season before losing to tie for fifth place. 
BASKETBALL: After nearly two months on the road recruiting and living at a local hotel, coach John Groce and his family were scheduled to move to their home in Champaign over the weekend.  Groce's oldest son completed kindergarten in Athens, Ohio, and his wife, Allison, finished the details on the family's move before Groce could reunite with them here. 
"Once we get this done, I feel like we've finally moved as a family and made a full transition,'' Groce said. 
FOOTBALL: Illinois senior Graham Pocic was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, the award given annually to college football's top center.  The award is determined based on All-America selections by the American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America. 
But there's a possibility Pocic could move from the position.  Speculation heading into Camp Rantoul points to Illinois making some decisions about juggling the offensive line.  It wouldn't be a major surprise if Pocic moves to tackle or guard. 
TRACK: Senior Andrew Riley earned Big Ten athlete of the year while also being selected as the track athlete of the championships for the second time in his career after winning the awards two years ago.  Riley took the top spot in the 100-meter dash and the 110 hurdles at the Big Ten meet while also leading off the winning 4x100m relay team. 
The 4x400 women's relay team of senior Ashley Kelly, senior Ryisha Boyd, senior Latoya Griffith and freshman Ashley Spencer earned a berth in the NCAA meet while also breaking the 19-year old school record with a time of 3:30.97.  The old mark was set in 1993 by a team that included current Illini coach Tonja Buford-Bailey. 
NOTEWORTHY: Seniors Dennis Nevolo and and Roy Kalmanovich ended their collegiate careers in the Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Championships Friday.  After Nevolo lost a two-set loss in singles play, Nevolo/Kalmanovich dropped a three-setter in doubles.  Nevolo ended his career at Illinois tied for sixth in career singles (116) and combined (211) wins and ranked ninth in doubles victories (95). . . 
The Fighting Illini Dugout Club will donate about $7,500 to the Boys and Girls Club in Champaign-Urbana from the auction of camouflage jerseys worn by the Illini on May 6. . . 
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.  Follow him on Twitter @JohnSupinie. 

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