April 24, 2004

South Bend, Ind. -

April 24, 2004

South Bend, Ind. - The St. John's men's golf team is in 5th place after the first day of competition at the 2004 BIG EAST Championship being played at Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Ind. The Red Storm carded an opening round 26-over par 306, and finished the day off with a second round 21-over par 301. After the first two rounds they are at 47-over par 607. Virginia Tech finished day one in first place at 20-over par 580, Notre Dame shot a 25-over par 585 and is currently in second place, rounding out the top five are Boston College at 33-over par 593 in third place, Georgetown University at 39-over par 302, and St. John's at 47-over par 607.

St. John's sophomore John Stoltz (Middletown, N.Y.) shot a first round four-over par 74 to lead the Red Storm for the first 18 holes. While sophomore Brian McArdle (Huntington, N.Y.) shot a first round five-over par 75 and led St. John's in the second round of play shooting a two-over par 72 to put him currently tied for sixth. Leading the individual race is Ryan Stinnett from Virginia Tech, who set a 36-hole tournament record shooting a two round total 3-under par 137, which puts him five shots ahead of the field.

Junior Ian Middleton (British Columbia, Canada) shot a 14-over par 154, currently tied for 21st. Sophomore Tom Travalja (Oradell, N.J.) finished the first day at 16-over par, currently tied for 26th, while freshman Joe Yastrub ( Lake Grove, N.Y.) is currently tied for 28th, shooting a 26-over par 166.

The Red Storm returns to the links tomorrow, April 24th for the final round of the BIG EAST Championship.