April 23, 2007
Results
MISSION HILLS, Kan. -
Freshman Tommy Bliefnick fired a first-round two-under-par 68, guiding the Illinois State men's golf to the top of the standings after the first day of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship Monday. Bliefnick finished day one in second place with a total of two-over-par 142 (68, 74), leading the Redbirds at the Kansas City Country Club in Mission Hills, Kan.
Bliefnick heads into Tuesday's final round four-strokes behind the individual leader, Creighton's John Sutko, who shot a total of two-under-par 138 (70, 68). Senior Matt Miller (71, 72) and freshman Drew Miller (72, 71) also paced the Redbirds by finishing the day tied for third place and shooting a total of 143.
The Redbirds, who were tabbed to finish second in the league's pre-championship poll, hold an 11 stroke lead heading into the final round. The Redbirds were able to stay in contention during the morning round, finishing one shot behind pre-championship favorite Wichita State. The `Birds used a solid, overall effort in the second-round (289) to move past the Shockers (583), as ISU ended the day with a total of 572 (283, 289).
After the `Birds finished the day at the top of the leaderboard, head coach Ray Kralis was proud of the way his team played, however, acknowledged the team still has to perform well tomorrow in order to take home team title.
"We had a great team effort today, as we got off to a great start," said Kralis. "But I think the golf course is tougher than everyone anticipated. However, we were able to hang in there in the afternoon and put up another solid round. We feel real good with our position heading into tomorrow, but we also know that we are going against an experienced Wichita State team.
"We have got to stay focused and not get ahead of ourselves. We have a good attitude heading into tomorrow, as we have continued to get better every time we tee it up. We have got a group of guys that are competitive, and know the importance of playing well tomorrow."
Sophomore Ben Murphy sits in a tie for sixth after day one, shooting consecutive scores of 72 to end with a total of 144. Senior Ryan Brown finished tied for 39th, firing a two round tally of 159 (77, 82).
Creighton (593) ended the day in third place, backed by the performance from Sutko. Southern Illinois finished with a total of 597 and in fourth, while Northern Iowa (599) placed fifth. Missouri State shot a total of 601 and ended in sixth, while Evansville and Drake (602) are one shot back and tied for seventh. In-state rival Bradley completed the first day in ninth, shooting a total of 50-over-par 610.
"We are going to have to stay focused and take care of ourselves," said Kralis. "We can't head into tomorrow thinking about protecting our lead, however, we must have the mentality that we will stretch it. We will focus on staying in the present, playing it one shot at a time. We have the players that reinforce that belief and will stay mentally tough. We know that the Shockers are going to make a run, but I know we have the firepower to get it done."
Tuesday's final-round of 18-holes will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Fans can follow all the action live by visiting GolfStat.com.
