Illinois men’s golf coach Mike Small wasn’t happy to just make it to the NCAA Championships. He wasn’t content with just making the final eight and a spot in the match-play portion of the tournament. He said from the beginning that Illinois went to Atlanta to compete for a national championship.

And compete it did.

If rankings held true, the Illinois golf team’s season would have ended at regionals.

“Our players are better than their rankings,” Small said. “And I think they showed that.”

The Illini — ranked sixth in their regional that advanced five teams to the NCAA Championships — won the program’s first regional. The team, which wasn’t even ranked in the top 30 in the nation heading into regionals, finished fifth in the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championships, earning one of eight spots in the match-play finals at the tournament.

Illinois, which won its fifth straight Big Ten Championship this season, took down defending national champion and Big 12 champion Texas in the first round of match play. The Illini then defeated top-ranked and Pac 12 champion California, considered by many to be the top college golf team in history after winning 11 of its 13 tournaments in the regular season, in the semifinals.

Illinois teed off against the SEC champion, No. 2 Alabama, in the national title match. The Tide finished second last season and used that experience to overpower the Illini 4-1, bringing Illinois’ season to a close as national runner-up.

Illinois was leading or tied in three matches heading into the final six holes, but freshman Charlie Danielson missed a putt for par on the 18th hole to lose his match. Sophomore Brian Campbell led after the 11th hole but lost four of the next five holes, and lost 3 and 2.

No. 4 Cory Whitsett was too much for sophomore Alex Burge, who is ranked 507 spots lower than Whitsett. Whitsett won 4 and 3. Freshman Thomas Detry also struggled with No. 3 Bobby Wyatt, losing 6 and 5.

Illinois junior Thomas Pieters was the only Illini to win his match against Alabama, defeating No. 8 Justin Thomas. Pieters won over NCAA champion Max Homa lifted the Illini over the Golden Bears the day before. The NCAA Championships was Pieters’ final competition as an Illini, as he has decided to forego his final season of eligibility to play professionally.

Pieters said he wasn’t surprised by his team’s strong finish.

“I’m just really proud of my teammates,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people expected us to compete for a national championship. I think we thought we could do it.”

The run wouldn’t have been possible without a run by his young teammates, two sophomores and two freshmen. Each player won at least one of his matches, and every win was needed in both rounds.

Pieters was the only Illini with match-play experience heading into the championships, and he thinks it will help the program in the future.

“Just for Charlie and Thomas to be freshman, it has got to be a hell of a ride for them,” he said. “My freshman year we went to match-play, and it was so much fun and we learned so much about it, and it will help them a lot next year.”

The six-day tournament was the longest of Illinois’ season, and Small said the length took a toll on his team.

“It’s tough to keep doing it again and again, especially when you have freshmen and sophomores,” Small said. “We didn’t play as well as we have played, and you need to play that well against Alabama. When you’re not sharp they’re going to trounce on you and make you pay, and they did.”

Still, Illinois was there at the end, competing for a national championship.

“This was not a pipe dream at all,” Small said. “And I think we proved that to people.”

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