SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team finished the Fighting Irish Classic at Warren Golf Course on Monday with a team score of one-under par 851, tying for 10^th place with Southern Illinois. It's the fourth-lowest 54-hole score for the Huskies since 1980.
 
Junior Jordan Less (Elmhurst, Ill./York) had the Huskies' low round on Monday, carding a two-under 69. He finished the tournament tied for 42^nd with a score of one-over par 214. Thomas DeMarco (LaSalle, Ontario/Morehead State) was NIU's top finisher in the event, tying for 34^th at even par with a 54-hole score of 213. DeMarco carded a two-over par 73 on Monday.
 
Senior Salvador Rocha (Mexico City, Mexico/American School Foundation) was also under par on Monday. His one-under par 71 moved him into a tie for 47^th at two-over par for the tournament. Paul Schlimm (Shorewood, Ill./St. Francis [Ill.]) rounded out the scoring group for NIU on Monday, matching Rocha with a 70 of his own. He finished the tournament tied for 65^th at seven-over par. Michael Mattas (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) tied for 57^th at five-over par after a round of 77 Monday.
 
"Overall, we're making a lot of progress with this group and this team," said head coach Tom Porten. "We needed a fast start on our first nine holes but couldn't take advantage of the par-fives. That put a lot of pressure on us to the play the second nine and make a lot of birdies. Sal made four birdies and Thomas, Jordan, and Paul each made three. We just ran out of holes at the end of the round."
 
As a team, the Huskies had a team score of two-under par 282 on Monday. After posting a 289 in the first round Sunday, NIU played the final 36 holes at six-under par. NIU finished one stroke behind Michigan State for ninth place. Illinois, ranked 17^th in the country, won the tournament by 10 strokes over Georgia Southern.
 
"This team has so much grit and determination that they won't lay down at all," said Porten. "That's a really good sign. They keep fighting until there are no more holes to play. The play we got from Paul and Sal over the last 36 holes, was solid golf. If we get some decent weather this weekend, I think we'll play really well at Indiana."
 
The Huskies return to action on Sunday, October 14 for the first day of the Chatham Hills Intercollegiate hosted by Indiana at The Club At Chatham Hills.
 
"We're going to have to make a lot of birdies at Indiana based on what we're hearing about the golf course," Porten said about next weekend's tournament. "We have to work on some wedges and putting and convert a few more and we'll be back and ready to go this weekend.
 
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Sunday
Behind a strong second round by all five Huskie players, the Northern Illinois University men's golf team stands in 10^th place after the first day of the Fighting Irish Classic at the Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Ind.

NIU shot a four-under par 280 in the afternoon, dropping nine strokes from its opening round score, and are just two strokes out of eighth place at one-over par 569 entering Monday's final 18 at the par 71 track. The Huskies are one stroke behind Southern Illinois (568) with Michigan State (567) in eighth.   

Senior Thomas DeMarco had the most consistent day with rounds of 69 and 71 and is tied for 19^th at two-under par 140.  Junior Michael Mattas posted scores of 72 and 69 and is one stroke behind DeMarco, while both Salvador Rocha and Jordan Less when 74-71 (+3) on the day. 

Senior Paul Schlimm had the biggest rebound round of the day as he came back from an opening 81 to shoot 69 Sunday afternoon.

Head Coach Tom Porten on Sunday's play:  "We didn't have our best game this morning. Outside of Thomas everyone was struggling with ball striking, but we hung around and figured some things out late in the morning round.
"I was very pleased with Paul's bounce back this afternoon!  He and Mike were terrific, and our other seniors (Sal and Thomas) hit a ton of quality shots and just couldn't convert enough birdies to catch the top five. But we made progress and tomorrow we have another opportunity to move up if we take care of the par fives and make a few more putts."

Action begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Follow live scoring of the Fighting Irish Classic at BirdieFire.com.

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