CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - January and February have been about fine tuning for Illinois head coach Mike Small, both for his game and for his players. The Illini open their spring stroke play schedule March 8 in Louisiana, but prior to that the Illini have been working on fundamentals and testing them in a pair of match play events. The second of those events is this weekend as the Illini meet Illinois State in the Seventh Annual Tinervin Cup Feb. 27 at Coral Creek Golf Club in Placida, Fla.

For Small, a victory last fall at the PGA Club Professional National Championship earned him seven exemptions on the PGA Tour this year. Small used the first of those last weekend at Mayakoba Golf Classic at Maya-Cancun, Mexico. Small shot 73-68-68-67-276 to tie for 17th and earned a $54,000 payday.

"This tournament worked out because we didn't have a conflict with the team," Small said. "It satisfied my goals of competitiveness and representing Illinois well."

Small believes that playing well this early will help when his summer schedule begins in June. "I've made some changes this winter with my golf swing," he said. "I was happy with some of the changes I made this week. This is going to give me a boost of confidence when I go out this summer."

Small gets back into competition June 10-13 at the PGA St. Jude Classic in Memphis. Until then his focus shifts back to his team, who is preparing for the Big Ten title defense in May and making another run in the NCAA Tournament.

The Illini went 2-1 at the Big Ten Match Play on Feb. 12-13 with victories over Indiana and Michigan. Matt Hoffman and Scott Langley went 3-0 individually at the event.

"We would have liked to go 3-0 as a team and win the tournament, but as a coach it's good to show the guys that all of them have to show up and play every time, not just three or four of them. They responded, though, against Indiana and Michigan, so they learned that lesson pretty quickly it looked like."

Illinois has five stroke-play events in March and April leading up to the Big Ten Championship April 30-May 2 at Minnesota.

"It's a long spring, but the schedule is spaced out that if we really pace ourselves that is not going to be an issue," Small said. "Our goal is to get better every week, build momentum come the end of the spring and play our best golf come April, May and June."

The final tune-up for that stretch comes this weekend facing Illinois State. The Illini are 6-0 in the Tinervin Cup, hosted by Jeff Tinervin and his family, benefactors for both programs. The format features three 2-on-2 better ball matches in the morning and six singles matches in the afternoon.

"Jeff made the offer for the event and it's been a great tool for both teams," Small said. "It gives us a chance to get out and play. I hope by the end of the weekend, our players will have answered some questions about their games, see some improvement from what they've done this winter and start sharpening their competitive edge for the next week."