BY MCKENDREE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
McKendree University Bass Fishing Leads After Day One at FLW Central Invitational
(GILBERTSVILLE, Ky., Sept. 13)
The duo of seniors Dustin Pendegraft (Summerfield, Ill./Lebanon) and Phillip Germagliotti (Highland, Ill./Highland) weighed-in a five-fish limit of 15 pounds-13 ounces and ended day one in the lead by just under one pound at the FLW Central Invitational on Saturday on Kentucky Lake.
The McKendree anglers and the other top 14 teams from day one advance to the final day where the top 10 finishers will qualify for the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship held on Lake Keowee in Seneca, S.C. Only 17 of the 45 boats competing on Saturday weighed in a five-fish limit, while six boats weighed in no fish.
Sophomore Brian McClanahan (Elkville, Ill./Elverado) also competed and finished in 23rd place overall with three fish weighing in at eight pounds.
McKendree University Bass Fishing Qualifies For FLW College Fishing National Championship
(GILBERTSVILLE, Ky., Sept. 14)
The McKendree University bass fishing duo of seniors Phillip Germagliotti (Highland, Ill./Highland) and Dustin Pendegraft (Summerfield, Ill./Lebanon) finished in third place on Sunday at the FLW Central Conference Invitational to qualify for the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
Germagliotti and Pendegraft move on to compete at the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship held on Lake Murray outside of Columbia, South Carolina on April 16-18, 2015. It will be McKendree’s first appearance in the national championship event in only the second year as a program.
McKendree was in the lead heading into Sunday, and weighed in four fish at 10 pounds, nine ounces for a two-day total of 25 pounds, six ounces to finish in third place overall in the invitational held on Kentucky Lake. McKendree finished ahead of local Kentucky schools Murray State University, University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky University and Georgetown College, along with Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, University of Missouri and defending national champion University of Minnesota.
“We’re thrilled with our finish,” said head coach Jon Rinderer. “To come down here and do so well on the home lake for a lot of these schools is just awesome. We’re only in our second year as a program and we’re headed to the national championship, so I couldn’t be more proud.”
A change in the weather from cool and breezy on Saturday to clear and sunny on Sunday gave the majority of the tournament field fits with only two of the top 15 teams catching a five-fish limit on the final day.
“The weather we practiced in this week held up on Saturday helped us develop a great pattern to fish on day one,” said Rinderer. “The weather on Sunday completely changed and it caused a lot of teams to struggle. Phillip and Dustin took a chance late in the day and changed locations and baits and they ended up catching all four of their fish in the final two hours.”
The Bearcats will host their fall invitational tournament on Sept. 27 in Carlyle, Ill., on Carlyle Lake. Take-off and weigh-in’s will be held at the Allen Branch Boat Ramp.
