The 14th-ranked University of Minnesota men's golf team remains in second place after three rounds at the Big Ten Championships. The Golden Gophers fired a team score of 4-under-par 280 to move their total to 845 (-7) for the tournament, but could not match Illinois 276 (-8), the lowest round of the event. Illinois still leads, now at 13-under 839. Minnesota holds a 13-stroke advantage over third place Ohio State at 858. Last year, the Gophers were in second place after 54-holes and overcame a six-stroke deficit to defeat Illinois and win the Big Ten title.

Junior Justin Smith (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) and senior Simon Nash (Pullanvale, Australia/St. Joseph's) both carded rounds of 3-under 68 for their third rounds. The score moved Nash up to seventh place at 210 (-3) and moved Smith up to a tie for second at 209 (-4). Also tied for second place is senior Matt Anderson (Edina, Minn./Edina) who shot even-par 71. Junior David Morgan (Rochester, Minn./Robert L. Stevenson) is at 217 (+4) for a tie for 18th place after shooting a 73 (+2). Senior Wilhelm Schauman (Djursholm, Sweden/Victor Rydberg) is tied for 35th place at 11-over 224.

The Big Ten Championships are being played at the par 71, 6,942-yard Indiana University Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind. The event will conclude Sunday with 18-holes of competition.

Team Scores - Day Two Big Ten Championships Indiana University Golf Course Pa r 71, 6,942 yards 1. Illinois 282-281-276-839 (-13) 2. Minnesota 283-282-280-845 (-7) 3. Ohio State 282-288-288-858 (+6) 4. Purdue 294-284-289-867 (+15) 5. Michigan State 286-290-293-869 (+17) 6. Indiana 285-298-287-870 (+18) Northwestern 286-296-288-870 (+18) 8. Michigan 300-285-297-882 (+30) 9. Penn State 295-297-298-890 (+38) 10. Iowa 293-290-308-891 (+39) 11. Wisconsin 298-301-300-899 (+47)

Golden Gopher Scores T2. Matt Anderson 71-67-71-209 (-4) T2. Justin Smith 71-70-68-209 (-4) 7. Simon Nash 69-73-68-210 (-3) T18. David Morgan 72-72-73-217 (+4) T35. Wilhelm Schauman 73-74-77-224 (+11)