February 25, 2008

Men's Golf in Ninth Place After Round One at Doyle Wallace Class

HOT SPRINGS, ARK. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s golf team teed off the 2008 season Monday at the Doyle Wallace Classic in Hot Springs, Ark., and finished round one in ninth place in the team standings with a score of 327 on the 6,671-yard, par 72 Arlington Course at Hot Springs Country Club. Several top golf programs in Division II men’s golf are taking part in the meet.

The Tritons, ranked No. 86 in the latest Division II golf poll, were paired with No. 85 ranked Ouachita Baptist and No. 54 ranked Delta State in round one. Henderson State (50), Northeastern State (27) and defending champion Arkansas Tech (61) comprised the feature pairing during the first round.

Scores were understandably high given the weather and course conditions facing the players. Cold weather and wet turf made an already difficult layout one of the toughest courses the Triton's have seen in this season.

“While we entered the tournament with a positive outlook and felt we could compete, it wasn’t very realistic to think we would bring our best golf given the lack of course time we’ve had due to the difficult winter,” said head coach Dustin Ashby. “As we get more time on the course to prepare, we'll be in fine shape as we begin the conference stretch.”

The Tritons were led by freshman Tim Cochran, who posted a first round score of 77, while junior Matt Thomas fired an 83. Freshman Ryan Penfield, sophomore Tim Swoboda and junior Matt Winslow all shot an 84.

“This wasn’t how we wanted to start the spring, but it was nice to finally get on the course,” said Thomas, who posted an 18-hole season best. “To see grass on the ground instead of snow was a step on the right direction for us.”

Northeastern State University stands atop the team standings with a first round score of 294.

UMSL tees off at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday for the second round of the Doyle Wallace Classic.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Northeastern State University 294
2. Henderson State University 296
3. Arkansas Tech University 299
4. Paris CC 300
5. Delta State University 305
6. Harding University 309
7. Christian Brothers University 318
8. Ouachita Baptist University 320
9. Missouri-St. Louis 327
10. Southwest Baptist University 341

Triton's Individual Round One Scores:
Tim Cochran – 77
Matt Thomas – 83
Tim Swoboda – 84
Ryan Penfield – 84
Matt Winslow - 84



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