B The 23rd-ranked University of Minnesota men's golf team won its first Big Ten title since 1972 Sunday at the Big Ten Golf Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. The Golden Gophers trailed by six shots heading into the final round, but rallied with a 3-under-par 285 to defeat second- place Illinois by four strokes. Minnesota shot rounds of 294-278-295- 285=1,152 to finish at even par for the tournament. This is Minnesota's fifth Big Ten men's golf title, the others coming in 1929, 1938 and 1963.

"It's a tremendous accomplishment for these players," said interim head coach Brad James. "With all the emotions of the past few weeks, for our guys to focus and do something that no Minnesota team has done in 30 years is amazing. I'm very proud of this group of guys and it really shows what this program is capable of."

The top Gopher finisher was sophomore Simon Nash in fourth place. Nash carded a 4-under-par 284 after a round of 71 on Sunday. Nash finished four shots behind individual champion Eric Jorgensen of Michigan State.

But the key to the Gopher victory was Minnesota's depth. Four Minnesota golfers finished in the top 20 and no player shot worse than 73 in the final round. Sophomore David Morgan, who finished in 44th place, fired an even-par 72 after struggling all weekend. Sophomore Justin Smith, who led the tournament after the second round, shot a 2-under 70 and tied for sixth at 2-under-par 286. Junior Matt Anderson carded a 72 in the final round and finished in 12th place at 2-over-par 290. Junior Wilhelm Schauman tied for 18th at 5-over-par 293.

"I was really happy for David for battling back and helping out his teammates," James said. "It was a team effort all weekend with all our guys rising to the occasion today. Simon and Justin had great tournaments, Matt fought back after round one and Wilhelm was solid throughout."

Minnesota will compete in the NCAA Central Regional on May 16-18 in Little Rock, Ark.

Final Results
1. Minnesota -- 294-278-295-285 -- 1152 (E)
2. Illinois -- 294-287-282-293 - 1156 (+4)
3. Purdue -- 279-289-293-296 - 1157 (+5)
4. Northwestern -- 289-283-296-295 - 1163 (+11)
5. Michigan State -- 291-291-291-293 - 1166 (+14)
6. Indiana -- 293-287-287-300 - 1167 (+15)
7. Ohio State -- 295-285-295-293 - 1168 (+16)
8. Michigan -- 294-284-294-298 - 1170 (+18)
9. Iowa -- 291-286-302-293 - 1172 (+20)
10. Penn State -- 302-295-287-296 - 1180 (+28)
11. Wisconsin -- 297-300-305-301 - 1203 (+51)

Golden Gopher Results
4. Simon Nash -- 73-70-70-71 - 284 (-4)
T6. Justin Smith -- 71-69-76-70 - 286 (-2)
12. Matt Anderson -- 76-70-72-72 - 290 (+2)
T18. Wilhelm Schauman -- 74-69-77-73 - 293 (+5)
44. David Morgan -- 76-77-77-72 - 302 (+14)