KETTERING, Ohio– Despite trailing the leaders by 10 strokes and sitting in last place after nine holes, the Illinois State Redbirds fought back to stand within a stroke of first place as play was halted with a handful of holes to play in the second round of the day at the Dayton Invitational. Over the back nine of the first round the Redbirds were two strokes under par, and are one stroke over par over the final 18 holes on the day, of which ISU has one scoring player and an individual player to finish out the round tomorrow morning.
The Redbirds got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the day, sitting in last place out of 12 schools after the first nine holes. Over the last 27 holes, however, Illinois State managed to make a comeback and were one stroke off of the lead behind  host Dayton in first place before the round was suspended.
Junior Joel Durnford leads the Redbirds and was tied for second individually before the round was suspended. Durnford finished the first round two strokes over par (73) and then came back in the second round to finish four-under par (67).
Senior Trent Wallace still has two holes remaining in the second round, and he is currently tied for eighth individually. In the second round, he is two strokes under par, Wallace finished the first round three-above par (74).
Junior David Perkins finished the first 36-holes in a three-way tie for 10thindividually before play ended. Perkins is two strokes over par after the first day scoring one-under par in the first round (70) and three-over par (73) in the second round.
Sophomore Andrew O'Brien shot four-above par in both the first and second rounds. Senior David Rauer was five strokes over par in both rounds.
In his first tournament appearance of the season and playing as an individual, sophomore Daniel Anfield finished the first round four stroke over par (74). Anfield has two holes remaining in the second round.
"The conditions today were tough," coach Ray Kralis said. "The golf course is a great test with greens that have a ton of movement, and the weather was a factor with rain in the morning and temperatures in the upper 40's in the afternoon. We dug ourselves into a hole through the midpoint of round one, but hen we held the line through the rest of the day and find ourselves right where we want to be going into tomorrow. Dave continued his solid play in the opening round which we desperately needed." Kralis continued, "Joel rebounded after a tough start in the opening holes, built some momentum, and played brilliantly from there to give us a huge lif in the second round. Trent kept grinding and was able to get some things to go his way in a big second round. I think these tests are great for our growth, and i love how we responded to the adversity today. Can't wait to get back at it tomorrow."
Play is set to resume at approximately 10 a.m. tomorrow, followed by a shotgun start for the third round.
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