Sept. 10, 2006
IOWA CITY, Iowa. -
Senior Matt Miller fired a third-round two-over-par 73 to lead the Illinois State men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Hawkeye Intercollegiate Sunday at the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa. Miller finished the tournament in fifth-place with a three-round total of 218 (72, 73, 73) and four shots off the lead.
Assistant coach Pina Gentile was pleased with the performance from Miller.
"Matt Miller's play throughout the weekend was solid," said Gentile. "I know he felt that he left a lot of shots out on the golf course, however, he was still able to hang in there and provide us with good scores and impact the team."
The Redbirds finished with a three-round total of 898 (293, 303, 302). The team had to battle rain and windy conditions in Sunday's final round.
"Today started out pretty rough," added Gentile. "It was raining and pretty windy, but everybody hung in there remained positive and did their best considering the circumstances. We had three scores that I thought were respectable but everyone thought they could have done better."
Drew Miller finished two shots behind teammate and brother Matt Miller in ninth-place with a three-round total of 220 (71, 75, 74). Freshman Tommy Bliefnick fired a three-round total of 231 (77, 79, 75) and finished tied for 30th place. Ryan Brown tied for 32nd with a three-round total of 232 (73, 78, 81). Rounding out the lineup for the `Birds, sophomore Joe Emerich finished in 46th place with a three-round total of 238 (81, 77, 80).
Western Illinois won the tournament and were led by Ben Hermes, who finished in first-place with a three-round total of 214 (72, 76, 66). Iowa, the tournament's host, finished five shots back in second with a three-round total of 888 (292, 290, 306). South Dakota State finished in third-place and Loyola-Chicago was five shots behind in fourth-place. St Ambrose finished in sixth-place with a three-round total of 899 (295, 302, 302), followed by Wright State (seventh), Evansville (eighth) and Drake (ninth).
While the Redbirds did not have the performance they hoped for in final round, Gentile believes that the team will be able to work on things before the next tournament.
"Right now we are still getting the kinks out and getting ready for the rest of the season," said Gentile. "It was not the kind of finish that we were hoping for, but we will have to regroup before we go to the Kansas Invitational. We will work on putting together a team effort."
The Redbirds will have a week to prepare before they travel to compete in the Kansas Invitational held Sept. 18-19 at the Alvamar Golf Club in Lawrence, Kan.
