BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tyler Gentilella (73-72) and Jason Marrs (71-74) led the Illinois State men's golf team through two rounds Saturday, scoring 145 apiece, as the team sits in 12th place ahead of Drake and Evansville. The two MVC rivals are trailing ISU by six and seven strokes, respectively, at the NYX Hoosier Invitational on the IU Golf Course.
Head coach Ray Kralis understands there were opportunities missed in the first two rounds.
"The weather conditions were ideal for scoring, but we were not able to get anything going collectively all day," Kralis said. "I thought we would make a move in the afternoon, as many teams did, but we missed that opportunity and have some ground to make up in round three. The hole locations were on the edges and in the corners, so we had to stay patient. We got a little too aggressive in some spots making it harder on ourselves to score and keep the right frame of mind. We need play smarter and mentally tougher Sunday."
Of the 17 teams competing, Wisconsin (565) leads the way with Toledo (568) and Oakland (574) following in second and third place. Illinois State (588) sits in 12th in front of Western Illinois (594), Drake (594), Evansville (597), Youngstown State (599) and IPFW (617).
Gentilella and Marrs are leading the charge for ISU tied in 25th place on the individual leader board, while Zach Burry follows with a 148 (74-74) in a tie for 39th place. Jordan Fahel carded a 150 (76-74) and Tyler Pope-Ferguson shot 157 (79-78) after the first day of competition.
The tournament continues Sunday with an 8 a.m. (CST) shotgun start.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, WSF gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
