May 21, 2005
Stanford, Calif. -
Illinois State golf coach Ray Kralis made it sound like a promise when finished his summary of his team's Friday performance in the NCAA West Regional by saying "we're going to come out (Saturday) and be mentally prepared to play and compete at a higher level." On Saturday, all five of his golfers helped him keep that promise by shooting their best rounds of the tournament as Illinois State carded a 292 and bettered its Friday round by 17 strokes.
Seeing his players perform as he thought they could throughout the tournament, Kralis saluted his team's character.
"If the first two days had gone better, I would have been even more impressed," said Kralis. "I knew their first two days didn't sit well with them. It would have been easy for them to pack up the tent (after two rounds). But, from a character standpoint, these guys really impressed me and this shows all of us the potential for where this program can go in the future."
After opening his round with a pair of double-bogeys, junior Matt Maskel tore through the 6,742-yard Stanford Golf Course with four birdies in his next seven holes to finish with a one-over-par 71. Sophomore Matt Miller, whose 54-hole total of 220 was the best of the Redbird players, birdied four of his first seven holes to finish with a two-over-par 72 for the day.
"Matt (Maskel) got into the rough early, and as we've said all week, the rough here will punish you. But, to his credit, he stepped up and came back," said Kralis. "He easily could have dropped his head. But he came back and showed that he has the potential to be that kind of great player."
Senior Kyle Vasel's 74 bettered his second-round score by six strokes. He showed consistency with 14 pars and four bogies. Junior Kris Wildenradt also continued his improvement over the weekend, carding a 75 to finish the tournament at 229. Senior Denny Bull also shot his tournament best 81 as Illinois State passed two teams in the standings to finish in 23rd place.
ISU's Saturday team score was so good that it was just four strokes higher than the 288 shot by tournament champion UNLV, which will lead a total of 10 teams to the NCAA Finals, June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md.
"Today showed that, on any given day, we can compete on that level," said Kralis, whose team rallied similarly in winning the 2005 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to earn an NCAA bid in his first season as head coach. "Now, the next step, is to prove we can compete on that level for three days. The guys can be proud of what this team accomplished, and we are certainly proud of them."
The match concludes Kralis' first year with the dual role as both men's and women's head coach. He did that in grand style, leading both teams to NCAA Regional Tournaments--the first Missouri Valley golf coach to accomplish that feat.
