The fairways are cut, the greens are trimmed and the Illinois men's golf team is prepared to make its mark this season.

The squad will head to Tennessee this weekend to compete in the Bank of Tennessee/Ridges Intercollegiate among some of the best teams in the country.

The field consists of 18 teams, including the defending national champions, Clemson. The competition will be one of the strongest fields gathered for this particular event. The 54-hole tournament will be held over a two-day period, at a par 72. With 15 of the 18 teams ranked in the top 30 in the nation, tough head-to-head encounters are guaranteed to occur.

The Illini who are unfamiliar with this tournament will be playing at the Ridges Golf and Country Club for the first time. Wake Forest took the title last year, but as rookies to the course, the Illini plan on turning some heads. Illinois head coach Mike Small is thrilled his team has the opportunity to compete in this prestigious tournament.

"It is one of the biggest, most competitive tournaments in the country with very strong teams," Small said. "All of the teams are going to be strong competition. This is what we have been playing and working for."

Illinois has a well-built lineup heading into this weekend, including sophomore Patrick Nagle and juniors Garrett Chaussard and Mike O'Neal.

Also joining the young squad are true freshman Mark Ogren and redshirt freshman Jordan Carpenter. Small expects great things from both the veterans and the rookies on Saturday.

"I expect strong leadership from Garrett, Patrick and Mike," Small said. "I don't really have any expectations of Mark and Jordan. As a coach, I will evaluate them and take it one step at a time. This is their first time out there and we will see what they can do."

Although the Illini are new to this event, they have high hopes of success. With experience against their opponents in previous tournaments, Small feels his team has the confidence and the skill to come out on top.

"We know these teams' histories and how they have competed in the past," Small said. "We are going in with the attitude of winning."

With a long season ahead, the Illini plan to use their performance this weekend as a learning tool. According to Small, the squad has strong intentions of evaluating themselves after the tournament and proceeding from there.

"As a coach, I am expecting smart, competitive and hard golf," Small said. "This will be good to see what areas we need to work on and see how we compete."