Oct. 18, 2005
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -
Junior Matt Miller carded a one-under-par 71 in the third round of the Rivercut Invitational to finish the tournament tied for ninth-place with a three total of 218 (73, 74, 71). The Illinois State men's golf team wrapped up its fall season by finishing the tournament in fourth-place, posting a three-round total of 883 (295, 294, 294).
Miller, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week selection this season, has continued to show head coach Ray Kralis the consistent play that the team needs to succeed.
"Matt Miller has had an outstanding fall season," said Kralis. "He really played well from start to finish. He gave us solid rounds and was someone we could count on to put up some low scores."
While the `Birds posted a fourth-place finish, Kralis feels that the team could have carded a better performance.
"We are all disappointed with the way we finished today," said Kralis. "We didn't get the overall team score that we needed. We wanted to win this golf tournament."
Other `Birds in competition included senior Kris Wildenradt, who fired a three-round total of 221 (77, 68, 76) to finish the tournament tied for 17th. Senior Chris Eddy fired a third-round one-under-par 71 to finish the tournament tied for 26th with a three-round total of 224 (72, 81, 71). Freshman Ben Murphy fired a three-round total of 225 (73, 76, 76), finishing tied for 28th. Senior Matt Maskel carded a three-round total of 230 (77, 76, 77), tied for 39th.
Western Illinois won the tournament, shooting a team total of 868 (286, 293, 289). The Leathernecks were paced by Nick Kwaterski, who finished tied for second-place with a three-round total of 214 (68, 72, 74).
Kralis feels that the `Birds still have a lot of work to do before the team hits the links in the spring.
"We are not going to take any down time," said Kralis. "We still have a lot of things we need to work on. We are going to keep at it, and get the momentum in the right direction."
