April 8, 2008
Results
JONESBORO, Ark. -
Led by junior Ben Murphy's three-round-total of 207 (69, 69, 69) and fifth-place tie, and the Illinois State men's golf team earned a third place finish at the ASU Indian Classic, hosted by Arkansas State at the par-72, 6,903 yard Sage Meadows Golf Club. ISU finished just three strokes behind tournament champion Austin Peay.
Along with Murphy, two other Redbirds finished the Indian Classic in the top-20 as sophomore Tommy Bliefnick tied for 11th with a three-round-total of 210 (69, 69, 72) and redshirt sophomore Joe Emerich posted a three-round-total of 211 (69, 71, 71) to finish in a tie for 16th.
Head coach Ray Kralis was pleased with his team's complete effort this week.
"This was a great tournament for our guys to build some confidence heading into next week's event but also the conference tournament," Kralis said. "The guys really responded with something on the line and we got great efforts all weekend out of everyone on our team."
Austin Peay, who posted a three-round-team-total of 834 (268, 286, 280), finished just two strokes ahead of Arkansas State (836- 278, 280, 278), and just three strokes ahead of ISU. Individual-medalist honors were claimed by Tyler Thompson of Arkansas State, who fired a three-round-total of 203 (68, 67, 68).
With just one event between ISU and the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Kralis is confident in the direction his team is heading.
"The last two weeks have been pretty impressive," noted Kralis. "I am pleased with the way we are playing, especially against conference competition. We have been able to put some room between ourselves and the other conference teams the last two weeks and that is something that will definitely help us as we head down the stretch."
Illinois State returns to action in the Fighting Illini Spring Classic, hosted by Illinois Saturday-Sunday, April 13-14. Tee times have yet to be announced.
