Redbirds Sit In 11th Place After Day One At The Louisiana Classics

LAFAYETTE, La. – Trent Wallace fired a first-round 70 and followed that up with a 73 in the second round, as Illinois State sits in 11th place in the team standings after day one of competition at the 31st annual Louisiana Classics held at Oakbourne Country Club.

The Redbirds moved up a spot after round one to 11th place overall after round two with a combined total of 601 (298-303).  The talented field includes No. 1 ranked Illinois, which topped the leaderboard after day one with an 18-under-par 558 (277-281).  The Illini were challenged closely by No. 33 Texas A&M, as the Aggies finished just one shot behind with a 17-under-par 559 (278-281).  No. 45 Kansas rounded out the top three by shooting a 13-under-par 563 (278-285).

  
Wallace shot a 2-under-par 70 in the first round of the day, thanks to three birdies on the back nine.  He followed that up with a 1-over-par 73 in round two to finish the day in a tie for 14th place overall with a total of 143.  He was followed by teammate Zach Burry, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week, who bounced back from a 74 in round one to shoot a 1-under-par 71 in round two and finish with a two-round total of 145 and a tie for 30th place overall.

"Trent and Zach are showing some nice consistency in their games and continue to give us solid scores," head coach Ray Kralis said. "The weather was ideal for scoring today, but the green complexes and surrounds could make it challenging if you missed in the wrong spots.  The game can mess with your confidence, and we have to take the positives from today and flush the rest."

Michael Mounce fired a first-round 74, but struggled in round two with a 79 to finish with a two-round score of 153 and currently sits in a tie for 64th place.  Kyle Meihofer and Tyler Gentilella rounded out the lineup for the Redbirds, as each fired totals of 164 on the first day of action.

Third and final-round action will begin Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. CT with a shotgun start.  For the third-straight year, a free live video feed covering hole No. 9 at the tournament will be available to watch beginning at 9 a.m. CT Tuesday, with Dan McDonald and Gerald Broussard calling the action. Live stats will also be updated every three holes on the final day of competition at www.golfstat.com.  

GoRedbirds.com:  Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.