SILVIS, Ill. - University of St. Francis fired a team score of 322 on Thursday and failed to make the cut for Friday's final round of the NAIA Men's Golf Championships at the TPC Course at Deere Run. Freshman Martin Hetelle (Seneca H.S./Seneca, IL) also narrowly missed the individual cut, falling only two shots in back of the cut line at 228 (15-over par) for three rounds.

Only the top 17 teams and top 40 individuals, plus all ties, will play in Friday's fourth round.

USF, which was tied for 11^th after the first round and tied for 19^th after Wednesday's second 18 holes, battled windy conditions on Thursday and saw its scores go up. The Saints shot 300 on Tuesday, 312 on Wednesday and 322 on Thursday.

The Saints were led on Thursday by a pair of 80's shot by sophomores Grant Whybark (Morris H.S./Morris, IL) and Steve Wojcik (Andrew H.S./Tinley Park, IL). Hetelle and senior Steve Sourigno (Joliet Catholic Academy/Joliet, IL) followed with rounds of 81. Junior Drew Anderson (Lockport H.S./Lockport, IL) rounded out the Saints' efforts with an 83 that did not factor into the USF team scoring.

Hetelle finished the 54 holes with rounds of 71, 78 and 81 and a three-day total of 230. The cut came at 228 with nine other players coming in at 229 and Hetelle and eight others at 230.

Despite the disappointment of failing to make the cut, USF's performance at the national meet was a major improvement over last year's effort at the same course. The Saints finished last in the field of 29 a year ago and were never in contention for the final round. Sourigno is the lone senior on USF's squad, so Coach Paul Downey's team will again be a strong candidate for inclusion in next season's national tourney field.