Men’s golf coach Mike Small has accomplished a lot during his 13 years at the helm of the Illini. He has won five Big Ten Championships and now made eight NCAA Championships. He’s coached two individual national champions in the last three years.

On Saturday, Small accomplished another feat; he finally coached Illinois to a regional championship. The Illini won the Fayetteville, Ark., regional by 3 strokes and were one of five teams to advance to the NCAA Championships, the sixth straight appearance for Small’s squad.

Illinois, at 1-under, was the only team to score below par. Arkansas, on its home course, finished at 2-over. The Illini could have finished 30-over and still been one of the five teams that advanced. Illinois was the No. 6 seed, but defeated five of the nation’s top-30 teams in the tournament.

“We just played better golf,” Small said.

When asked to pinpoint what was behind Illinois success this weekend, Small immediately pointed to the four Illini golfers who finished in the top 10 of the regional. Sophomore Brian Campbell and freshman Thomas Detry tied for second, while freshman Charlie Danielson tied for fifth. Defending national champion Thomas Pieters finished at 3-over for the tournament and tied for 10th.

Small said he wasn’t worried about Pieters, who will be playing his final collegiate tournament in the NCAA Championships after announcing he will forego his senior season to play professionally.

“I was happy with his play. He was solid and steady,” Small said.

Illinois got off to a hot start behind Danielson, who fired a 7-under 65 in Thursday’s opening round. Small said Danielson’s performance fired up the team and gave the Illini confidence heading into the rest of the tournament. Fellow freshman Detry shot a 68, and Illinois finished 6-under to lead after the first day.

On Friday, Campbell was the leader for the Illini, shooting a 5-under, and keeping Illinois in second place entering the final round. Solid rounds by all four players lifted Illinois to the top of the leaderboard Saturday.

The Illini have now won two tournaments in a row after winning the Big Ten Championship their last time out.

The Illini will next play in the 30-team field at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta on May 28. The Illini are one of six teams in the nation to play in the NCAA Championships each of the last six seasons. Illinois is joined by Southern California, UCLA, Texas, Texas A&M and Florida.

If Illinois’ hot streak continues, Small could add yet another new accomplishment to his resume: a national championship.

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.