Day One Results
NORMAL, Ill. – After the first two rounds of the D.A Weibring Intercollegiate Sunday, the Illinois State men's golf team led the field with a team score of 584 (296-288), while senior Jordan Fahel and sophomore Kyle Meihofer are in the top-10 on the individual leaderboard.
Head coach Ray Kralis is pleased with the performance of his team, after the first two rounds, and believes Monday will be its chance to break away from the pack.
"We are right where we want to be going into Tuesday," Kralis said. "For the day, we had perfect playing conditions, so it is hard to separate from the rest of the pack, and the teams are very bunched up. Sometimes you take things for granted when you are at home, but we made the adjustments we needed to make and made a nice move in the second round to put us where we wanted to be. Jordan came back with a big round in the afternoon, and Kyle played solid all day."
The Redbirds were led by Fahel (75-69) and Meihofer (73-71), who are tied for seventh on the individual leaderboard, as both shot a two-round score of 144. Fahel and Meihofer's strong second rounds helped ISU keep the one-stroke lead over second place Central Arkansas, which has a team score of 585 (298-287). Junior Tyler Gentilella finished with a day one score of 147 (73-74), leaving him tied for 19th place. Junior Tyler Pope-Ferguson (77-74) and freshman Zach Burry (75-76) both shot a 151, which ties the duo for 42nd place after 36 holes.
Competing as individuals, the Redbirds hold the top-three spots, as Jason Marrs shot a 144 (72-72), while Christian Crabill carded a 145 (74-71) and Josh Edison was close behind with a 147 (74-73).
"I am really pleased with how our individuals played, and then, through the lineup we had a lot of positives." Kralis continued. "It was a very good day for the Redbirds both for the individuals and the team. We still have a lot of work in front of us, but we are right where we want to be and looking forward to the challenge."
After two rounds, ISU (584) sits in first with Central Arkansas (585) one shot back. Southern Illinois (588), SIU-Edwardsville (589) and DePaul (593) took third, fourth and fifth, respectively, while Drake, Bradley and Loyola are tied for sixth with a team score of 594.
With the top-11 teams separated by only 13 strokes, the final round will prove to be a fight to the finish. With one round left, the competition will conclude Monday with an 8:30 a.m., shotgun start.
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