Oct. 29, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's golf team will finish their 2006 fall slate when they compete at the Bradley Fall Classic, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 30-31, at the WeaverRidge Golf Club in Peoria, Ill.
Senior Matt Miller leads the Redbirds into competition at the par-72, 6,986-yard course. Miller has finished in the top six individually in three of four fall tournaments. Sophomore Joe Emerich will also be making the trip, who is coming off his best career finish (T-16th) at last week's Oral Roberts Shootout. Sophomore Ben Murphy, who also posted a career finish (T-18th) at last week's event, joins freshmen Tommy Bliefnick and Drew Miller in the lineup for the Redbirds.
Senior Ryan Brown and sophomore Matt Ryba will also be making the trip to Peoria, but will be competing as individuals in the two-day event.
The Redbirds will be playing at the WeaverRidge Golf Club, which is rated no. 37 in America's 100 greatest public courses by Golf Digest. The course is also ranked no.12 by Golf Digest in its ratings of the state of Illinois.
Head coach Ray Kralis is excited to be playing in one more fall tournament, and feels the team is getting a great opportunity to play at one of the nation's best courses.
"This is not a typical tournament on our schedule," said Kralis. "But WeaverRidge is a fantastic golf course and it's a treat to play. It's a very fair golf course. It's a great opportunity for us to get back out there and compete again. After four events, being a young squad, and seeing a lot of positives, competing in another tournament fits what we need right now.
"I'm excited about the lineup we have going," added Kralis. "Matt Miller has obviously been the leader for us so far. Joe Emerich and Ben Murphy have also been quickly stepping into their roles. We have a very competitive group, even though it's a very young group with two freshmen and two sophomores playing. It's a group that can compete on any given day and I think they are heading in the right direction with controlling things that they are able to control and working on the appropriate things in practice. So this gives us a great opportunity to go into an event, and it's one of those that if we can play well, we should be in the hunt."
Bradley, the tournament's host, will be joined by fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton in the field. Other teams competing include Wisconsin-Green Bay, Chicago State and Western Illinois.
The tournament, which will only be 36-holes, begins Monday with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Tuesday's final round will also begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
