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April 21, 2008

Results

DAVENPORT, Iowa - The Illinois State men's golf team currently stands in seventh place at the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship, hosted by Northern Iowa at the par-71, 6,278 yard Davenport Country Club. The Redbirds were led by sophomore Tommy Bliefnick, who posted a second-round, 2-under-par 69, on his way to finishing day-one action in a tie for fifth place.

"Tommy played solid golf both rounds," said head coach Ray Kralis. "He had a tough time with the putter in round one, but I am pleased with the way he responded. He put together a great second round and has put himself in a position to contend individually."

Bliefnick, a Decatur, Ill. native, posted a day-one-total of 1-over-par 143 (74, 69) and is just five strokes behind individual-leader Connor McHenry of Wichita State. McHenry posted a day-one-total of 138 (72, 66) to lead Andy White (70, 69) of host Northern Iowa by one stroke.

"Today was a tough day for us," said Kralis. "We were unable to put together the type of team scoring we have the past few weeks, and the way we knew we would need to this week, but we still have a lot to play for and I expect the guys to respond tomorrow and make a move."

Also competing for ISU are redshirt sophomores Kyle Bragg and Joe Emerich, junior Ben Murphy and freshman Jeff Kellen. Bragg currently stands in a tie for 21st place with a two-round-total of 151 (78, 73), Emerich is tied for 33rd with a two-round-total of 155 (76, 79), Murphy is in a tie for 28th with a day-one-total of 153 (75, 78) and Kellen is tied for 30th with a two-round-total of 154 (76, 78).

As a team, Illinois State posted a day-one-total of 599 (301, 298) to sit just two strokes out of the top-five. Pre-tournament favorite Wichita State leads the 54-hole event by 15 strokes over second-place Southern Illinois. The Shockers posted a two-round-team-total of 566 (287, 279), and have three players in the top-five individually.