URBANA – The Illinois men''s golf team has not played in a tournament in more than a month, so Sunday''s dual match with Northwestern proved to be the right tuneup for the upcoming tournament season.

Illinois defeated the Wildcats 8-4 at Stone Creek Golf Club in an event that featured six 18-hole matches, followed by six nine-hole matches. The format was head-to-head stroke play, with the winner earning a point.

The Illini won five of the six 18-hole matches, with Danville product Ryan Moore leading the way, along with Ryan Tendall, Garrett Chaussard, Mark Og-ren and Jordan Carpenter. Tendall, Ogren and Carpenter also won their nine-hole matches.

"The idea behind playing this match with Northwestern was to get some outside competition and help us prepare for the upcoming Big Ten and district schedule, as well as help us determine our lineup for the next couple of weeks," Illinois coach Mike Small said. "I thought everybody played well, especially Ryan Tendall. He seemed to break through and have 27 very solid holes."

Illinois will compete this weekend at the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational and April 17-18 in Columbus, Ohio.