AKRON, Ohio – After the first two rounds of the Firestone Invitational Monday, the Illinois State men's golf team is in 10th place, carding a team score of 584 (291-293). Freshman Trent Wallace shot 1-under-par for the day, firing a 143 (71-72) to lead the Redbirds into Tuesday's final round. Wallace is tied for 15th place on the individual leaderboard.
Head coach Ray Kralis is optimistic about his team going into the third and final round of play.
"The conditions were ideal all day, so there wasn't much separation among most of the field. We hung in there as a team and certainly have the firepower to make a charge Tuesday. We only had 1-under-par score on the board in rounds one and two, but we have multiple guys playing well enough to go low," Kralis said. "With good conditions forecasted for the final round, we'll need a few red numbers Tuesday to lead the way."
Junior Kyle Meihofer finished the day just three strokes behind Wallace, carding a 146 (73-73), as sophomore Zach Burry closely followed, shooting a 147 (74-73) through two rounds. Meihofer finished the day tied for 34th place, while Burry sits in a tie for 43rd place. Junior Christian Crabill ended the day with a 151 (73-78), while senior Tyler Gentilella finished shortly behind, shooting a 153 (78-75).
Out of the field of 16 teams, Maryland is leading the way seven strokes under par with a total score of 569 (284-285). Akron (290-283) and Xavier (289-287) are in second and third place, respectively, while Illinois State sits alone in 10th place.
The Redbirds open the third round with an 8:30 a.m., shotgun start in hopes of moving up the leaderboard to close out the tournament.
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