illinois wesleyan leads after first two rounds of 2009 cciw men's golf championship

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Defending conference champion Illinois Wesleyan put some distance ahead of its competition during the first two rounds of the 2009 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Golf Championship held at The Rail Golf Course in Springfield, Ill.

The Titans shot a two-day total of 557 (281-276), 19 strokes better than their second place counterparts at Carthage who shot a 576 (288-288). Wheaton is currently third (301-280-581), followed by Millikin (301-295-596), North Central (305-291-596), Elmhurst (307-304-611), Augustana (308-312-620) and North Park (327-329-656).

The conference championship will conclude in two weeks with rounds 3-4 taking place at Whisper Creek Golf Club in Huntley, Ill.

Bennett Blakeman (Burr Ridge, Ill./Lyons Township) of Illinois Wesleyan currently leads with a two-day score of 138 (68-70), followed by his teammate Ryan Dorner (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) (73-66-139). Carthage's Matt Carr (Galesburg, Ill./H.S.) (70-70-140) and Illinois Wesleyan's Mike DeRuntz (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) (69-71-140) are currently tied for third. Wheaton's Steven Moore (Greenwood Village, Colo./Arapahoe) (73-68-141) and Carthage's Tim Gannon (Darien, Ill./Montini Catholic) (72-69-141) are tied for fifth.

Illinois Wesleyan's Matt Wennmaker (Oregon, Ill./H.S.) (71-71-142) is seventh while Wheaton's Dan Downey (Vernon Hills, Ill./H.S.) (73-70-143) is eighth along with Illinois Wesleyan's Chris Green (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) (74-69-143). Carthage's Tyler Wollberg (Mundelein, Ill./H.S.) (71-73-144) is currently 10th.

Notes
- Illinois Wesleyan's Ryan Dorner shot a 66 (-6) during the second round, which was only three strokes from The Rail course record of 63.

- Illinois Wesleyan's current score of 557 (-19) set a new CCIW record for a two-day total at the conference championship. The previous high was set by the Titans in 2003 and Millikin in 1988 when both teams shot a 593. The CCIW men's golf championship moved from a two-day to four-day format in 2007.

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