Zionsville, Ind. - Illinois continues to be in elite company when it comes to men's golf. Coming off a three-peat of the Big Ten title, the Illini became one of just seven schools in the country to qualify for the NCAA Championship in each of the past four years. Illinois joins Arizona State, Florida, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC with that distinction.

"Mission accomplished," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "This was one of the goals we set at the beginning of the year and it's a credit to our guys that they made it again."

Illinois placed second at the NCAA Regional at Wolf Run Golf Club to earn one of five spots available from the site to the 30-team NCAA Championship, which begins May 31 in Stillwater, Okla. The Illini, who came into the day in a tie for first, shot a three-under par 281 to finish at -9. Illinois, which has won the last two Wolf Run Invitationals, finished second to Michigan in the event in 2008. Saturday, the Wolverines used a nine-under par 275 to win the tournament at -11.

Individually, Michigan's Lion Kim, who participated in the 2011 Master's, and Big Ten champion Luke Guthrie of Illinois had a spirited battle for the top spot all the while trying to win the championship for their respective teams. Guthrie, who birdied 17 and 18 in Friday's second round, played the final four holes Saturday at -4, which included an eagle on the 515-yard par-five 17th. Guthrie and Kim shot identical six-under par 65s to tie for the title individually. That marked Guthrie's fourth tournament title this season and third in a row heading into the NCAA.

"I gave myself a lot of good birdie opportunities late in the rounds," Guthrie said. "The par five 17th played downwind all weekend. Overall I hit the ball solid, driving more fairways than normal, which set up a lot of five footers."

Illinois won the Big Ten title by 19 strokes and this weekend, the conference proved just how strong it is this season, sending five teams to championships. Iowa joins Illinois and Michigan by advancing out of Wolf Run. The Hawkeyes tied Tennessee for fourth at +13 while Northwestern and Ohio State also advanced out of their respective Regionals. Alabama was the other team to advance out of Wolf Run after finishing third at -5.

While Guthrie had the hot blade late in the round, Illinois sophomore Mason Jacobs was strong midway through it, posting six straight birdies from holes 7-12. Jacobs finished with eight birdies in his last 12 holes overall en route to a final round 68, good for a tie for 14th overall at +1.

In fact, all five Illinois players finished in the top 25. Second-round leader Scott Langley placed ninth at -1 after a final round 75. Freshman Thomas Pieters tied for 17th at +2 after shooting a 74 and senior Chris DeForest tied for 23rd at +5 after also firing a 74 on Saturday.

"It wasn't a smooth day," Small said. "We struggled at times and played very well at times. It would have been nice to go into the NCAA finals with three straight wins, but I'm proud of the way we finished all three days."