After hitting a valley at the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate two weeks ago, the Illini men’s golf team is back on the upswing after finishing third at the Boilermaker Invitational this weekend in West Lafayette, Ind.

“Overall it was a positive weekend,” said head coach Mike Small.

Coming off its 10th-place finish in Auburn, Ala. last weekend, the team was hoping to find some sort of stability at the Boilermaker Invitational. That stability came in the form of senior leader Garrett Chaussard, who shot a one-under par for the tournament to lead the team to a score of 880 over the 54-holes. Chaussard’s one-under was good enough to tie for the fifth-best record of individual golfers at the event. This season, he has also been Illinois’ top finisher in six out of nine tournaments.

“Garrett played outstanding,” Small said.

Two other Illini golfers placed in the top-25 individually, with freshman Andy Mack recording a five-over par and junior Blair Harkins shooting a seven-over. Mack placed in the top-20 for the first time as an Illini, and Harkins was in the top-25 for the fourth time this season.

The meet, hosted by Purdue, consisted of seven teams from the Big Ten. Missouri won the event with a total score of 861. Along with Mizzou, only host Purdue placed higher than the Illini among Big Ten teams.

“We’re going in the right direction,” Small said. “I have faith in their games.”

With the postseason quickly approaching, the team needs to begin peaking soon to be at the top of its game come early May. Even if the team isn’t there yet, Small is confident it will be soon enough.

“We’re getting closer,” Small said. “We just have to come out every week ready to play.”

The Illini compete next in the Bruce Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational on April 30-May 1 in East Lansing, Mich.