SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Just like the U.S. Postal Service, the Midwestern State men's golf team delivered in the rain, sleet and snow in Monday's opening round of the Springfield Pasta Company Invitational played at the Par-72, 7,066-yard Rivercut Golf Course.

Led by tournament leader Trevor Arianna, the Mustangs fired a team total of 312 (+24) under adverse conditions and will take a six-stroke lead into Tuesday's final round at the 36-hole event.

"Our kids did a great job of staying composed and focused today," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "We played in rain, sleet and snow all day and conditions were really tough. I was really proud of our guys. There are plenty of things that can go wrong on a day like this."

With temperatures hovering in the 30s and wind chill values plunging below 20 degrees, Arianna displayed grit by grinding out 13 pars to go along with a birdie and four bogies to card a 3-over total of 75 to lead a pack of our golfers by a single stroke.

"Trevor did a great job of keepign the ball in the fairway," Ray said. "I just can't say enough about him. He works hard and is always out on the course and has stepped up and played hard for us. This is a tough golf course on a good day."

Sophomore Sam Smith also turned in a quality round with a total of 77 (+5) to stand two strokes off of the pace.

"Sam really overpowered the Par 5s, but was really smart playing the Par 4s," Ray said.

Sophomore Raine Copeland (tied for 12th) and freshman Jeremy LeGuen (tied for 20th) tallied the other countable scores with totals of 79 (+7) and 81 (+9) respectively as the Mustangs will carry a six-stroke lead over Missouri-St. Louis (318/+30) into the final round.

Junior Brett Perry carded an opening round 87 (+15) to tie for 44th, while sophomore Antonio Herran fired an 82 (+10) to stand 27th competing as individual medalist.

"It was misting when we started and quickly went to sleet and then snowed for about 45 minutes," Ray said. "It was just really cold. The guys did a good job of staying tough. It doesn't sound like a great score but under these conditions, that's a great score."
  

Springfield Pasta Company Invitational
Rivercut Golf Course
Springfield, Mo.
Par-72, 7,066 yards
Team Leaderboard
Place									Team	Round Scores	Total	To Par
1									Midwestern State	312	312	+24
2									Missouri-St. Louis	318	318	+30
3									Missouri Western	321	321	+33
									Drury (Mo.)	321	321	+33
5									Maryville	325	325	+37
6									Newman (Kan.)	326	326	+38
7									Pittsburg State	330	330	+42
8									Lincoln (Mo.)	333	333	+45
									Fort Hays State	333	333	+45
10									Southwest Baptist	334	334	+46
11									Sioux Falls	357	357	+69
Individual Leaderboard
Place									Player, Team	Round Scores	Total	To Par
1									Trevor Arianna, Midwestern State	75	75	+3
2									Andrew Funk, Drury	76	76	+4
									Shane Feist, Missouri Western	76	76	+4
									Ryan Penfield, Missouri-St. Louis	76	76	+4
									Kenny Evischi, Maryville	76	76	+4
6									Markus Hilger, Fort Hays State	77	77	+5
									Corey Youngclaus, Missouri Western	77	77	+5
									Sam Smith, Midwestern State	77	77	+5
9									Thomas Hay, Drury	78	78	+6
									Jacob Sandbothe, Lincoln	78	78	+6
									Seth Rhodes, Pittsburg State	78	78	+6
Midwestern State Scorecard
1									Midwestern State	312	312	+24
1									Trevor Arianna	75	75	+3
6t									Sam Smith	77	77	+5
12t									Raine Copeland	79	79	+7
20t									Jeremy LeGuen	81	81	+9
44t									Brett Perry	87	87	+15
27t									Antonio Herran*	82	82	+10
* Competing as an individual medalist only.