Aug. 31, 2008
FARMINGTON, Pa.--In its season-opening tournament, Miami University's golf team is off to a strong start with all five RedHawks sitting among the top 30 and Miami leading the 12-team field after the first round of the Rutherford Intercollegiate.
"I thought our guys did a really good job of getting ready for this tournament. Their preparation yesterday was good, and it showed today," said first-year head coach Casey Lubahn. "We worked a lot on putting, and we had very few three-puts today. The preparation they put in shows in the way the came out and started the round."
Senior Aaron Crist, who was two-under on the front nine and one under on the back nine, birdied six holes in the first round and fired a 69 on the par 72 course to lead the tournament field. Crist sits one stroke ahead of Purdue's Nakarintra Ratanakul, who is in second place at two-under par 70.
"Aaron was rock solid as he has been so far in the preseason as we headed into this tournament" said Lubahn. "He's hitting a lot of fairways and hitting the greens, and he had a lot of puts fall. This is the kind of performance I expected from Aaron from the way he's been working."
Sophomore Nathan Sutherland--who led the RedHawks last spring at the Rutherford Intercollegiate with a second-place finish--birdied four holes, including three on the back nine, and is tied for third place at one-under par 71.
"Nathan is a gamer. As we got closer to competition, he began to narrow his focus," said Lubahn. "He has gotten sharper and sharper in the days leading up to this tournament. He's a leader and is doing it by example."
Senior Ben Bastel had a consistent round and is tied for 11th place at two-over par 74. Sophomore Michael Drobnick also sits among the top spots after one round, carding a three-over par 75 to sit in a tie for 15th place. Senior Anthony Cordes also had a solid opening round for the RedHawks and is tied for 29th place at five-over par 77.
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Shooting a 289 as a team, Miami holds a six-stroke edge on second-place Purdue on the Mystic Rock Course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and is 11 strokes ahead of third-place Penn State.
"This is a really good start for us, but there is a long way to go," added Lubahn. "We need to play hard tomorrow and work at getting better every day."
Miami continues its stint at the Rutherford Intercollegiate with Monday's second round. The tournament will conclude on Tuesday with the third round of play.
1 Miami 289 1 Aaron Crist 69 T3 Nathan Sutherland 71 T11 Ben Bastel 74 T15 Michael Drobnick 75 T29 Anthony Cordes 771 Miami 289 2 Purdue 295 3 Penn State 300 4 VCU 301 T5 Missouri 303 T5 Richmond 303 7 Xavier 305 T8 Bowling Green 306 T8 Marshall 306 T10 Ball State 307 T10 Cleveland State 307 12 Toledo 312
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