Men's Golf: Panthers move up in team standings
Bird, Parrodi post top scores
Neil Schneider / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Sports
One day after struggling through the first 18 holes of golf due to missed putting opportunities and gusting winds, the Eastern men's golf team rebounded with 19-over-par in the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
The Panthers jumped from ninth place to eighth place with Tuesday's score, which is only six strokes behind seventh place Tennessee Martin.
As a team, the Panthers improved by 13 strokes from their first day 32-over-par score to give them a two-day total of 51-over-par (627 strokes).
On day one of the tournament, sophomore Francisco Cherizola led the way with a 3-over-par, but during day two's competition, Cherizola shot an 11-over par that dropped him from 11th overall into a tie for 33rd overall.
Despite the day two struggles of Cherizola, all four other Eastern golfers improved upon their day one scores.
Senior Matt Davis improved on his first day score of 10-over-par, with a posting of a 6-over-par score. Junior Lucas Mannix shot an 11-over-par, which was a five-stroke improvement from his first round score, while fellow junior Matt Bird shot an impressive 1-over par.
Bird improved his second day score by 11 strokes and posted the same second round score as freshman teammate Gino Parrodi.
Eastern golf head coach Mike Moncel said once again the Eastern squad struggled with the speed of the greens, but Moncel was impressed with the way Bird was driving the golf ball.
"Matt (Bird) made 17 out of 18 greens on drives," Moncel said. "He really has come a long way in three years, but he just had a few putts that wouldn't fall."
Like Bird, Parrodi finished day two with a score of 1-over-par, which was an improvement from his 7-over-par first round performance.
Parrodi said he really wanted to improve on his first day performance, while still working on his putting opportunities.
"I felt that I played pretty solid," Parrodi said. "I didn't have a good first round because I missed some putts. I missed some putts today, but I felt that my striking and long-range driving improved."
Parrodi began the second round of golf by playing even through the first nine holes that included a birdie on the eighth hole, followed by a bogey on the ninth. Parrodi then bogeyed three holes on the back nine, but countered with birdies on the 11th and 17th holes.
Moncel said Parrodi's second round performance was a typical steady performance for Parrodi.
"This was only an average day for Gino because he has performed so consistently this season," Moncel said. " He really has been steady all season."
Parrodi was named to a member of the 2009 OVC All-Newcomer Team.
Heading into the final day of competition, Moncel said he would like to see a consistent performance from all five members.
"We have been getting two or three players perform well, but a few have stumbled during this time," Moncel said. "I would just like to see all of the EIU golfers put up a consistent performance."
Murray State still leads the field with a 9-over-par team performance (585 strokes). The Racer shot an 8-over-par today, and leads second place Austin Peay by five strokes.
Jacksonville State sophomore Gonzalo Berlin and Morehead State senior Lee Chaney lead the field with a 2-under-par 142-stroke count.
Today's final round begins at 8 a.m. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Day two results
1. Murray State - 585 (+9)
2. Austin Peay - 590 (+14)
3. Jacksonville State - 594 (+18)
4. Morehead State - 598 (+22)
5. Eastern Kentucky - 600 (+24)
6. Tennessee State - 615 (+39)
7. Tennessee-Martin - 621 (+45)
8. Eastern Illinois - 627 (+51)
9. Tennessee Tech - 630 (+54)
Eastern golfers
18. Gino Parrodi - 152 (+ 8)
31. Matt Bird - 157 (+13)
33. Francisco Cherizola - 158 (+14)
35. Matt Davis - 160 (+16)
43. Lucas Mannix - 171 (+27)
Second round begins today at 8 a.m. Live stats available on OVCSports.com.
Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.
The Panthers jumped from ninth place to eighth place with Tuesday's score, which is only six strokes behind seventh place Tennessee Martin.
As a team, the Panthers improved by 13 strokes from their first day 32-over-par score to give them a two-day total of 51-over-par (627 strokes).
On day one of the tournament, sophomore Francisco Cherizola led the way with a 3-over-par, but during day two's competition, Cherizola shot an 11-over par that dropped him from 11th overall into a tie for 33rd overall.
Despite the day two struggles of Cherizola, all four other Eastern golfers improved upon their day one scores.
Senior Matt Davis improved on his first day score of 10-over-par, with a posting of a 6-over-par score. Junior Lucas Mannix shot an 11-over-par, which was a five-stroke improvement from his first round score, while fellow junior Matt Bird shot an impressive 1-over par.
Bird improved his second day score by 11 strokes and posted the same second round score as freshman teammate Gino Parrodi.
Eastern golf head coach Mike Moncel said once again the Eastern squad struggled with the speed of the greens, but Moncel was impressed with the way Bird was driving the golf ball.
"Matt (Bird) made 17 out of 18 greens on drives," Moncel said. "He really has come a long way in three years, but he just had a few putts that wouldn't fall."
Like Bird, Parrodi finished day two with a score of 1-over-par, which was an improvement from his 7-over-par first round performance.
Parrodi said he really wanted to improve on his first day performance, while still working on his putting opportunities.
"I felt that I played pretty solid," Parrodi said. "I didn't have a good first round because I missed some putts. I missed some putts today, but I felt that my striking and long-range driving improved."
Parrodi began the second round of golf by playing even through the first nine holes that included a birdie on the eighth hole, followed by a bogey on the ninth. Parrodi then bogeyed three holes on the back nine, but countered with birdies on the 11th and 17th holes.
Moncel said Parrodi's second round performance was a typical steady performance for Parrodi.
"This was only an average day for Gino because he has performed so consistently this season," Moncel said. " He really has been steady all season."
Parrodi was named to a member of the 2009 OVC All-Newcomer Team.
Heading into the final day of competition, Moncel said he would like to see a consistent performance from all five members.
"We have been getting two or three players perform well, but a few have stumbled during this time," Moncel said. "I would just like to see all of the EIU golfers put up a consistent performance."
Murray State still leads the field with a 9-over-par team performance (585 strokes). The Racer shot an 8-over-par today, and leads second place Austin Peay by five strokes.
Jacksonville State sophomore Gonzalo Berlin and Morehead State senior Lee Chaney lead the field with a 2-under-par 142-stroke count.
Today's final round begins at 8 a.m. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Day two results
1. Murray State - 585 (+9)
2. Austin Peay - 590 (+14)
3. Jacksonville State - 594 (+18)
4. Morehead State - 598 (+22)
5. Eastern Kentucky - 600 (+24)
6. Tennessee State - 615 (+39)
7. Tennessee-Martin - 621 (+45)
8. Eastern Illinois - 627 (+51)
9. Tennessee Tech - 630 (+54)
Eastern golfers
18. Gino Parrodi - 152 (+ 8)
31. Matt Bird - 157 (+13)
33. Francisco Cherizola - 158 (+14)
35. Matt Davis - 160 (+16)
43. Lucas Mannix - 171 (+27)
Second round begins today at 8 a.m. Live stats available on OVCSports.com.
Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.
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