Sept. 26, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
After competing in 29 rounds as a sophomore, Illinois State junior Will Cullen will make his season debut when the Redbirds travel to Lawrence, Kan., to compete at the Kansas Invitational Monday and Tuesday. The event will be held at the Alvamar Golf Club. Tournament play for the 14-team field begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Coming off a third-place finish at the Colbert Hills Invitational last week, men's golf head coach Ray Kralis is looking for his team to make some noise in a competitive field.
"This is a big week for us coming off three events," Kralis said. "It's hard to believe we are halfway through the fall. In some senses I'm really pleased and in other areas, I think we're falling short of our expectations. For us to take the next step, we can't just play okay this tournament. I'm looking for our veterans to step up and play at a higher level."
Senior Tommy Bliefnick is coming off a strong showing at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate with a fifth-place finish. Senior Kyle Bragg, junior Jeff Kellen and sophomore Eric Meier will also compete for the `Birds.
Participants for the event include Idaho, Houston, Kansas, Louisiana, Marquette, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Seton Hall, South Dakota, Missouri-Kansas City and Western Kentucky.
"We talk about potential a lot and we know that there's a ton of it on the team, but at the same time we have to face the facts and start backing it up," Kralis said. "It's a tough golf course that's very demanding around the greens so we've got to be ready to go. This is a key event for the season and where we want to go."
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