May 1, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - Junior Ben Murphy has been named an honorable mention Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete, giving the Dunlap, Ill. native his second MVC accolade of the season. Murphy was also named MVC Golfer of the Week on April 15.

Head coach Ray Kralis has taken notice of his most experienced player's drive to succeed both on and off the course.

"This is a tremendous honor for Ben and I am extremely proud of him," said Kralis. "To be named a scholar-athlete means you have to get it done both in competition and in the classroom. With golf, we are on the road quite a bit so to be able to excel in both academics and athletics is really a testament to the hard work Ben has put in during his time at Illinois State."

Murphy, an accounting major, leads Illinois State having competed in each of Illinois State's 11 events this season, including 31 rounds played. He is also fourth on the team with a scoring average of 75.0 and earned three top-10 finishes this season. At the ASU Indian Classic (April 7-8), Murphy carded a career-best three-round-total of 9-under-par 207 (69, 69, 69) on his way to a tie for fifth place. Murphy's other top-10 finishes include a tie for ninth at the Argonaut Invitational (Feb. 25-26) and a third-place tie at the Fighting Illini Spring Invitational (April 12-13).

At the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Murphy tied for 20th with a three-round-total of 225 (75, 78, 72) while helping the Illinois State team to a third-place finish.