March 27, 2007
Results
STEVINSON RANCH, Calif. -
Senior Matt Miller notched his third career victory, firing a one-over-par 73 during the final-round of the Ninth Annual Colorado/Stevinson Ranch Invitational Tuesday. Miller, who finished with a three-round total of two-under-par 214 (73, 68, 73), led the Illinois State men's golf team to a third-place tying performance in Stevinson Ranch, Calif.
Shooting the second-lowest final-round score, Miller claimed medalist honors by one stroke, edging out UC-Davis' Louie Bishop. Miller won his third career tournament at the highly-regarded Stevinson Ranch Golf Club and has already claimed two victories this spring, with his other title coming at last month's UTSA Intercollegiate. He also became the first Redbird in Colorado/Stevinson Ranch Invitational history to capture individual honors at the event.
Miller also became the first golfer from the Missouri Valley Conference to take home the tournament's title.
Even though the wind gusts of over 30 mph continued to cause problems for competitors, Miller propelled the Redbirds' move up the leader board, as the team finished with a three-round total of 910 (296, 302, 312).
Assistant coach Pina Gentile was thoroughly impressed with Miller's performance on Tuesday.
"Matt's play was absolutely outstanding," said Gentile. "After feeling like he wasn't striking the ball well in the first round, Matt really came out fired up in the second round, which carried over into today's round. He really battled the strong gusts of wind and made some great par-saves during the later part of his round.
"I'm also really proud of how our team played, because they hung in there and managed the golf course. Nobody gave up and they kept fighting, dealing with the adversity very well."
Sophomore Ben Murphy finished the tournament tied for 30th place, shooting a three-round total of 232 (75, 78, 79). Freshman Tommy Bliefnick tied for 35th with a total of 233 (78, 78, 77), while sophomore Joe Emerich ended in 48 with a three-round score of 236 (71, 82, 83). Freshman Drew Miller shot a total of 239 (77, 78, 84), finishing in a tie for 57th place.
Valley member Wichita State held on to its lead, winning the tournament by 17 strokes with a team total of 881 (281, 291, 309). The Shockers were led by Cameron Bishop, who finished three strokes behind Miller tied for third place with a total of 217 (69, 70, 78). Host Colorado finished in second place, while Illinois State, Akron, Kansas and UC-Davis all tied for third place with a three-round total of 910.
"Our kids really showed how they can handle adversity," said Gentile. "I think it will help us down the road, as we prepare for future battles against some great competition as well as with the golf course. We will be able to draw upon our experiences from this tournament, allowing us to dig deeper and find more when we need it."
Miller and the Redbirds will next travel to Branson, Mo., April 2-3 for the Branson Creek Invitational, hosted by Missouri State.
