SANDESTIN, Fla. - Tying for the best round of the tournament thus far, the sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's golf team soared up the team leaderboard at the Golfweek October Classic Monday, Oct. 19. The Titans fired a six-under 278 to ascend six spots into the lead ahead of tomorrow's final round at the par-71, 6760-yard Raven Golf Course at Sandestin Resort with a 36-hole total of 573.
The Green and White's strong day was an all-around lift as every Titan shaved three-or-more strokes from their opening round score. Sophomore Ben Gelven (St. Louis, Mo.-Mary Institute and Country Day School) continued to pace IWU, firing a career-best four-under 67. Gelven turned in seven birdies, including opening the day with two on the 10th and 11th holes. He posted two-under scores on both the back and front-nines to climb into a share of second-place with a 139. He stands one stroke off the lead.
Joining Gelven in the top-10, classmate Ryan Andrews (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) carded a three-under 68. In a bogey-free round, Andrews rolled in three birdies to charge up the standings to tie for ninth at 142 with one round to go. Junior Pablo Castro (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine) turned in IWU's other sub-par round, going one-under. He holds a share of 11th-place with a 36-hole total of 143.
Freshman Sam Uutala (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) and sophomore Alex Rollman (Cincinnati, Ohio-Turpin) posted rounds three and four strokes better than a day prior. Uutala went one-over, with Rollman recording a 78.
Illinois Wesleyan holds a two-stroke lead over No. 10 UW-Eau Claire and fourteenth-ranked Oglethorpe who sit tied at 575. Hampden-Sydney and Whitman are locked in fourth at 577, while LeTourneau's Clayton Cates leads the player leaderboard with a four-under 138.
Final round action is slated for tomorrow, Oct. 20. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
IWU Individual Results
T2. Ben Gelven 72-67=139
T9.Ryan Andrews 74-68=142
T11. Pablo Castro 73-70=143
T41. Sam Uutala 76-73=149
T105. Alex Rollman 82-78=160
Team Standings
1 Illinois Wesleyan 295-278=573
T2 UW-Eau Claire 289-286=575
T2 Oglethorpe 291-284=575
T4 Hampden-Sydney 287-290=577
T4 Whitman 291-286=577
T6 Huntingdon 304-278=582
T6 LeTourneau 282-300=582
8 Trinity 300-284=584
9 Berry 299-295=594
10 Bethel (Minn.) 299-296=595
T11 Rhodes 302-295=597
T11 Nebraska Wesleyan 300-297=597
T13 Wabash 306-294=600
T13 St. John's (Minn.) 307-293=600
15 Ohio Northern 300-301=601
16 Augustana 294-308=602
17 Grinnell 303-300=603
18 Southwestern 310-298=608
T19 UW-Stout 309-302=611
T19 Gustavus Adolphus 308-303=611
T21 Christopher Newport 316-299=615
T21 Millikin 312-303=615
23 Rose-Hulman 303-314=617
24 MUW 326-309=635
25 Spalding 333-313=646
