This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week are Wichita State's Adin Stromgren and Missouri State's Jay McBride.  Stromgren was the best MVC individual at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational, while McBride was medalist (by seven strokes) at the Bob Hurley ORU Shootout.

WOMEN'S RECAPS
Four women's teams competed  at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas State at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kan., including Creighton, Illinois State, UNI and Wichita State.  Illinois State was the top MVC team at the tourney, coming in fourth place out of the 13-team field with a team score of 948 (329-306-310).

Junior Adin Stromgren of Wichita State rallied from a four-over par mark at the fifth hole on Tuesday to shoot four pars and birdie to keep herself in the top 10. Her total score of 232 (77-79-76) tied her for 10th place and she was the highest MVC individual finisher at the tournament.

The Shockers knocked 16 strokes off of their previous round score to pass in-state rival Kansas en route to earning a fifth-place finish on Tuesday at the Marilyn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills Golf Course hosted by Kansas State. Freshman Gretchen Huhnerkoch made the biggest jump in the final round, as she knocked down three birdies to lead the Shockers' Tuesday scores with a 73 (+1). Huhnerkoch finished the tournament tied for 29th with a total score of 240 (85-82-73).

UNI sophomore Brittany Atterbury fired a final round 74to finish with a tournament score of 241. Her 83-84-74 card put her in a tie for 31st place in the individual standings. The final round score of 74 beat her season-best round from last week by one stroke. This is the second week in a row Atterbury has either led or tied for the lead among Panther golfers.

Betsy Conry finished tied for 20th place to lead Creighton.  She used a 1-under-par, final-round 71, the team's best individual round of the tournament, to recover after rounds of 86 and 80 on Monday at the par-72, 6,287-yard course. The 71 was Conry's lowest round of her career and Creighton's lowest since Audrey Butler shot a 71 on Sept. 26, 2005.

Illinois State senior Britt Knutson played in her first tournament of the season. Despite poor weather conditions with strong winds and cold temperatures, Knutson fired a seven-over-par 79 (41-38) after firing two birdies in the first round on Monday. During the second-round, Knutson carded an 81 (40-41) and ended the day in a tie for 20th place. Knutson finished the third and final round with a three-over-par 75 (41-34) to place in a tie for 16th individually. Knutson ended the two-day tournament with 235 (79-81-75).
  RESULTS -- Click Here

Evansville's Emily Johnson is two-for-two this season in cracking the top 10. After finishing fourth in the first golf tournament of the year, the University of Evansville junior shot 77 in the final round to finish in a 10th place tie at the University of Cincinnati Invitational, played at 6,186-yard, par 72 Elks Run Golf Course. Johnson's 54-hole total of 235 (80-78-77) led the Aces to a 12th place team finish.

MEN'S RECAPS
Missouri State senior Jay McBride fired a five-under par 67 in Tuesday's (Sept. 29) final round to walk away with a seven-shot victory at the Bob Hurley ORU Shootout at The Golf Club of Oklahoma in Tulsa.  McBride posted 75-73-67--215, one-under for the tournament, and overtook runner-up Kyle Robbins of Stephen F. Austin, who shot 222.  As a team, MSU shot 305 in the final round and finished 10 behind first-place Texas State.  The Bears posted 308-299-305--912 for the 54-hole event and took runner-up honors in the 12-team field.  Sam Houston State finished third with 920, a shot better than fourth-place Stephen F. Austin.  Tulsa was fifth (926), followed by UNI (927), Oral Roberts (932), Northern Illinois (952), Centenary (952), Louisiana-Monroe (953), North Dakota State (972) and Houston Baptist (992).

Kyle Bermel led UNI to their best team finish on the young season with a 6th place team showing at the ORU Shootout in Broken Arrow, Okla. Bermel was the Panthers' leading scorer once again, this time carding a 78-75-75--228 to finish in a tie for 9th as an individual. It was Bermel's first career top 10 finish as an individual. Bermel also leads the Panthers in scoring average for the fall 2009 season. UNI finished 6th out of 12 teams competing at the Golf Club of Oklahoma.
  RESULTS -- Click Here

Illinois State sophomore Eric Meier finished the Kansas Invitational with the strongest showing of his young career. The Normal, Ill., native completed the three-round tournament tied for third place as the Redbirds final-round team score of 291 was the best of the 14-team field Tuesday.  Despite their strong finish, however, the 'Birds came up four strokes short of first place and two strokes short of second as they finished the two-day tournament alone in fifth place after posting a 26-over-par 890 (300-299-291). Meier finished off the tournament at an even-par 216 (71-73-72).

Four league teams competed at the John Dallio Memorial in Lemont, Ill., including Bradley, Drake, UNI, and Southern Illinois.  Drake Senior Luke Joy (Dorsett, England) finished fifth overall to pace the Drake men's golf team at the tournament.  Joy posted a final round 75 to finish with a 69-75-75=219, and he was the highest finisher at the tournament, which was played under windy conditions. Two of SIU's top golfers produced nearly identical results, as Jordan Cox and Blake Driskell fired three-round 231s to finish in a tie for 22nd overall.  Bradley's Zach Wanken fired a 76-73-87=236 to lead the Braves, while Jared Doerfler topped the Panthers with a three-round 227.
  RESULTS -- Click Here

Wichita State landed two Shockers in the top 25 at the VCU Shootout in the final round on Tuesday at the Hermitage Country Club.  The tournament field was close as the 12th-place Shockers (893) were only two strokes behind Richmond and East Carolina (891) who tied for 10th, but 13 strokes ahead of Maryland (906) who finished in 13th.  Seniors Dustin Garza and Connor McHenry each finished in the top 25 with a 220 and 221, respectively. Garza carded a 75 (+3) on Tuesday to accompany  his 73 (+1) and 72 (E) in rounds one and two to finish the tournament tied for 20th. McHenry shot just one over in the final round to bring him to 221 (71-77-73) and tie him for 24th.