LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Illinois State Redbirds got a second-place finish from senior Trent Wallace, and the squad went toe-to-toe with two nationally ranked squads, as the team placed third overall at the Little Rock Invitational, the final fall event for the Redbirds.
This fall, Illinois State finished inside of the top three in four of the five tournaments, including a first-place finish at the Wisconsin Badger Invitational to kick off the 2018-19 season.
The Redbirds carded a three-round score of 865 (290-287-288), just behind No. 23 UNLV (864) and No. 19 Arkansas State (863). The three teams were tightly bunched, with fourth place team and host Little Rock shooting an 880, Louisiana Monroe and Seattle tying with an 884, and Arizona in seventh with an 886.
"We battled all day and handled adversity very well," said head coach Ray Kralis. "It wasn't perfect by any means, but I loved the grind and fight that we showed. We stayed right with two top-25 teams, which highlights the potential of this squad. Trent (Wallace) and David (Rauer) had very solid tournaments, and Dan was big for us in rounds two and three. This was a very strong finish to a solid fall and has me very excited about the spring season."
Wallace nearly provided a repeat performance of his medalist honor a year ago at the event and carded a final-round 73 (+1) in the tournament to tie for second place overall with a 213 (-3).
David Rauer shot even par over the final 18 holes, with just one birdie and one bogey, earning a par on the remaining 16 holes. He closed the tournament with an even 216, good for a tie of sixth place in the field.
The low score for the Redbirds on the third day was Dan Anfield, whose three-under 69 helped the team shoot an overall even par over the final 18 holes. He closed his final round with four birdies, a bogey, and 13 pars. Overall his 221 put him in a seven-way tie for 24th overall.
Joel Durnford was the team's fourth and final scoring golfer in the final round, carding a two-over 74. He had five birdies on the round, and just four holes above par. Like Anfield, Durnford closed the tournament with a 221, also in the seven-way tie for 24th.
David Perkins was the team's fifth golfer in the field and finished the round with a 78 (+6), to close out the tournament with a 226, tying him for 43rd individually in the field.
The Redbirds return to action on January 26 with the Tinervin Cup, a one-on-one exhibition with its alumni against Illinois and their alumni. The first official match of the spring season comes on Feb. 11-12 at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, hosted by South Alabama.
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