April 21, 2009
Morse, Punjabi, Cameron All-SLIAC as EC takes 2nd in league
Leaderboard
The Eureka men's golf team claimed second place at a conference tournament for the second time in four years after closing with a team score of 317 in the final round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Golf Championship Tuesday. The Red Devils posted a 54-hole score of 951 (315-319-317), leaving them behind only Maryville University (309-316-303-928). The Saints carded the lowest round of the tournament Tuesday with a 303 to earn their fifth, and final, title since 2000. They will be leaving the conference for Division II competition next season.
Three Red Devils earned conference awards for their outstanding play in the end of season tournament. Senior Matt Morse (Magnolia, Ill./Fieldcrest) fired a final round 73, which tied for the second lowest round of the tournament, to finish in a tie for third place. That marked the best finish ever for a Red Devil in Eureka's three years as a member of the SLIAC. As a result, Morse is also the first ever player to earn First Team All-Conference accolades in men's golf for EC. Morse ended up only seven shots off the pace of the medalist, Nick Profancik of Maryville, and one shot behind second place Rob Jackson of Blackburn.
Narish Punjabi (Washington, Ill./HS), who carded a 54-hole score of 236 (79-77-80) to take sixth place, was named SLIAC Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Conference. A junior transfer from Illinois Central College, Punjabi led the Red Devils on the season with a 76.3 stroke average, recording six top 10 finishes in seven tournaments. He broke 80 in all 12 of his rounds except the final circuit of the SLIAC Tournament.
Dan Cameron (Byron, Ill./HS) received All-Conference recognition for the third time in four years. The senior was consistently competitive throughout the tournament, posting rounds of 80, 78 and 79 en route to a seventh place score of 237 and Second Team All-SLIAC honors. Cameron also earned NIIC Newcomer of the Year and All-Conference in 2006 and SLIAC Second Team All-Conference in 2007. He saved his best for last, carding his three lowest rounds of the season in the SLIAC Championship. Eureka and Maryville were the only squads to place three golfers on the all-conference teams.
Brady Wildenradt (Delavan, Ill./HS) concluded his playing career at Eureka with an 18th place finish. He shot a 54-hole score of 252 (79-86-87), starting the event off by tying his season-low round of 79. Sophomore T.J. Schopp (LeRoy, Ill./HS) took 23rd out of a total of 35 competitors by posting a 256 (86-85-85).
Blackburn College (328-313-314-955) finished four shots behind Eureka in third place. Fontbonne University (341-313-322-976) took fourth, while defending champion Webster University (323-335-328-986) was fifth. Westminster College (351-363-358-1072) and MacMurray College (384-406-403-1193) rounded out the field.
Eureka last took second place at the 2006 Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference meet, finishing 13 strokes behind Aurora University. Cameron and Wildenradt were both freshmen All-Conference members of that team. The 2009 Red Devils' team score of 951 marked a large 53 shot improvement from their 1004 total from last season's fourth place finish in the conference. Eureka also finished in fourth place in 2007 with a team score of 975.
Eureka head golf coach Morgan Murphy will announce the awards from this season at the Annual E-Tribe Spring Sports Banquet to be held on Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00 pm in the Terrill Rooms of the Cerf Center.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bmoore@eureka.edu
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