Feb. 17, 2009

Final Stats

NORMAL, Ill. - Junior Joe Emerich and sophomore Jeff Kellen both fired a 1-under-par 70 in the final round of the 14th annual UTSA Oak Hills Invitational at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio Tuesday to lead the Illinois State men's golf team to a fifth-place finish.

The Redbirds finished in fifth place after carding their second-lowest three-round total of the season at 864 (292-284-291).

Emerich finished the tournament in red numbers on the par-71 course, after he carded a 1-under-par 212 (72-70-70). The Paletine, Ill., native finished tied for sixth, which marked his second top-10 of the season and the fourth of his career. Kellen showed his moxie when he moved 10 spots up on the leader board after he carded a 1-under-par 70 in the final round. He ended the tournament tied for 15th place (74-71-70--215).

Head coach Ray Kralis was proud of how his team started the spring season.

"We stay composed, battled and had contributions from everybody," said Kralis. "We played well from start to finish, with Joe (Emerich) really setting the pace for us. We ended the tournament only one stroke back from Oklahoma and were able to pull away from Wichita State. Overall, we are real happy on how we started the spring season."

Junior Kyle Bragg tallied a 4-over-par 75 in the final round to end the tournament tied for 27th place (72-72-75--219). Junior Tommy Bliefnick ended the tournament tied for 44th place (77-71-76--224), while senior Ben Murphy rounded out the scoring, finishing for 51st place (74-75-77--226).

Illinois State remained undefeated in conference play with an 11-0-1 record after finishing ahead of Missouri Valley Conference foe Wichita State, which finished in eighth place (294-284-299--877).

The Redbirds will play a day-long event Feb. 28 in the fifth annual Tinervin Cup at Coral Creek Club in Placida, Fla.