COLUMBUS, IND., March 29, 2009 - Sophomore Tim Cochran finished five strokes over par to earn a third place finish at the Wisconsin-Parkside Invitational this weekend at the Otter Creek Golf Club, helping the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's golf team to a third place finish in the team standings.  The 36 hole championship finished amidst freezing temperatures and a constant rain.   

Cochran fired rounds of 73 and 76 to finish with a 149 on the 72-par, 6,897-yard course. He finished seven strokes behind medalist Brooks Herrick of Bellarmine.   

As a team, the Tritons shot 304 and 312 to finish with a 616 in the six-team event. Bellarmine claimed team honors with a 603.

Also for UMSL, junior Tim Swoboda tied for 11th place with rounds of 76 and 79 for a 155 finish. Junior Matt Winslow (80-76 156) and sophomore Ryan Penfield (75-81 156) tied for 15th place, while senior Padriac Kerr rounded out the scoring with an 81 and an 82 for a 163 total, finishing in 27th place.  

UMSL entered the final 9 holes, 11 shots behind first place Wisconsin Parkside and Bellarmine University and was paired with the top two teams on Sunday.  'It was going to take four scores at par or better for us to make a run at the leaders," said head coach, Dustin Ashby.  "As much as anything, the final nine holes presented the ultimate mental challenge as the conditions were extreme".  

UMSL got off to a quick start in this mad dash to the finish when senior, Matt Winslow, holed out for birdie on the difficult par 4, 10th hole.  Winslow made another birdie on the par 3, 13th.  "Matt is capable of managing his game around a golf course as well as anyone on our team, so I wasn't surprised to see him off to a fast start despite the tough conditions," said Ashby.

Ryan Penfield, Tim Swoboda, Tim Cochran and Paddy Kerr didn't enjoy the same fast start.  Penfield, Cochran and Swoboda each made bogey on the easy par 4, 11th hole.  However, Cochran and Swoboda bounced back with birdiies at 12 and 13 respectively.

The final three holes at Otter Creek Golf Club were playing difficult with the 15 mph winds and temperatures continuing to drop.  Due to solid play over the first 6 holes of the back nine, the UMSL team was virtually guaranteed of maintaining their 3rd place team position, with an outside chance of catching Wisconsin Parkside for 2nd place.  

Winslow entered the final three holes 1 under par for the back nine.  A double bogey on the par 4, 17th, unfortuntely turned an exceptional performance into a good performance.  Winslow finished with a 2 over par, 38.  

Sophomore, Ryan Penfield never could get anything started over the final nine holes and finished with a 5 over par 41.  Junior Tim Swoboda finished the tournament in a tie for 11th place after a final nine hole score of 40.  Sophomore, Tim Cochran finished birdie - birdie on 17 and 18 to shot an even par 36 on the back nine for a final round 76. 

UMSL returns to action April 4-5 when it competes in The Jewell, at Cherry Blossom Golf Course in Cherry Blossom, KY.