NORMAL, Ill. (April 22, 2006) -- For the first time in Edgewood College history all five men’s golfers finished with sub-80 scores on day two of a tournament, as the Eagles finished 12th out of 21 teams this past weekend at the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational at Ironwood Golf Course.

The tournament showcased some of the best NCAA Division III and NAIA teams in the region and the Eagles managed to finish in the middle of the pack which was a great success in the mind of head coach Gary Oftehdal.

“Our play was respectable and we earned some regional respect this weekend,” said Oftehdal. “Our control of the golf ball was the best I have seen from our team by every golfer.”

On day one of the tournament the Eagles shot a combined score of 309, including Mike Brennan’s (Prairie du Sac, Wis.) team leading first round score of 75. On day two it was Bob Stilling’s (Lake Mills, Wis.) 78 that led the Eagles as all five golfers finished with scores below 80.

“Day one was very good as it was the first time around the course for everyone,“ said Oftehdal. “Day two was a bit harder as the pins were much more difficult and the wind was considerably stronger. Our team kept the ball in play and away from penalty strokes each day. With a little better putting, we might have cracked the top eight.”

Another notable was senior Evan Holewinski (Middleton, Wis.) who finished his collegiate career with a birdie on his last hole to break 80 with his second consecutive 79 for the Eagles.

Oftehdal hopes that his teams success this past weekend will carry momentum over to the fall when they look to repeat as Lake Michigan Conference champions.

“The [LMC] championship has done wonders for all the returning golfers.“ said Oftehdal. “They have a good summer of golf planned and that should improve their competitive abilities next fall. They see how close we are to the very top golf teams in our region and they want to be there too.”