Riding sophomore Andy Mack’s even par 72 on the final day of the tournament on Tuesday, Illinois climbed two places on the leader board and finished in 10th at the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, hosted by Northwestern at The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill.

The event is a team, as well as a conference competition. Seven Big Ten schools face off against seven Pac-10 schools, with each conference keeping its best six team scores to determine the winner.

Illinois took the sixth spot in the Big Ten and helped to even up the all-time series at one a piece after the Pac-10 took last year’s inaugural match, which was played in Oregon.

Leading the way for Illinois was Junior Patrick Nagle. On Monday, Nagle shot the second lowest score of his career, putting up a 6-under-par 66. He followed that up with rounds of 78 and 73, shooting a 217 and securing 14th place overall.

“Patrick’s 66 was a solid round from the start to finish,” head coach Mike Small said. “He birdied the last hole, stayed composed throughout the round and played awesome.”

Sophomore Frank Alafoginis was the next best golfer for Illinois as he placed 30th with a 6-over-par 222. Alafoginis led the team during the second round as he shot an even par 72.

Finishing just one stroke behind him was Mack, who shot 76-75-72, good enough for a 35th place 223.

Kyle Hosick held the fourth spot for Illinois scorers with a 9-over-par 225, giving him 44th place.

Northwestern won the tournament with a score of 860, defeating Minnesota (863) by three shots. Arizona State took the third position with an 865.

The individual champion was Northwestern’s David Merkow, who finished the tournament with a score of seven under par.

After completing its second tournament of the season, Illinois has gotten off to a slow start, with no top-five finishes through its first two tournaments.

Small pointed out that the team has been playing championship caliber courses and that the difficult conditions may be causing some inconsistency, but he would still like to see the team play better.

“As a team, we need more consistency; we have good and not good team scores,” said Small. “I’m looking for some players to step up and play three solid rounds, not just one. They have all showed they can play; now they need to do it.”

Illinois will now begin preparing for its next tournament in Palm Springs, Calif. where they will play in The Prestige on Oct. 17-18.