AKRON, Ohio - The Illinois State men's golf team finished at the top Tuesday at Akron's Firestone Invitational at the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club (North Course) in Akron, Ohio, after a well-rounded tournament performance. The Redbirds capped off their first-place finish after leading the 16-team field for almost the entire round, shooting a 7-over-par 295 to finish with a 5-under-par 859 (282-282-295).
Cincinnati came in second and finished one stroke behind of ISU with a 4-under-par 860 (291-282-287), after shooting a 1-under-par 287 as a team in the final round. Akron finished third overall with an 11-over-par 875 (287-282-306).
Junior Trent Wallace finished in third place on the individual leaderboard, as he finished the tournament with a 3-over-par 214 (71-68-75). Wallace carded a 3-over-par 75 (37-38) in the final round and added one birdie on the day.
Senior Zach Burry and Freshman Andrew O'Brien tied for the Redbirds lowest score of the round, shooting an even-par 72 and finished in a tie for fourth place. Burry also added three birdies and an eagle to finish with a 1-under-par 215 (72-71-72). Making his Redbird debut, Andrew O'Brien also fired an even-par 72 in the final round (32-40), which included five birdies on the front nine. He finished the event with a 1-under-par 215.
Sophomore David Perkins ended the final round with a 4-over-par 76 (36-40) and finished in a tie for 10th place. He also added two birdies to finish the final 18 holes while ending the tournament with an even-par 216 (71-69-76).
Junior David Rauer rounded out the scoring for ISU, as he tallied a 4-over-par 76 (37-39), finishing the tournament with a 9-over-par 225 (75-74-76) over the three rounds.
"The guys were fantastic this week", said head coach Ray Kralis. "We knew the day would bring some tests, and we always expect some highs and lows as this is a very challenging game. But I could not be any more proud of how the team competed and represented Illinois State! It is rare and very impressive to win wire to wire in fields of this size, and we, along with Cincinnati separated ourselves from the rest of the field. Andrew's front nine was huge today, and he had a great tournament out of the gate for us. It was a true team effort as we placed four guys inside the top 10, another rare feat. This group has the talent to do special things, especially as we believe in ourselves more and more, and this was a great step in the process."
The Redbirds return to action at Dayton's Flyer Invitational at NCR Country Club, Oct. 16-17, in Kettering, Ohio.
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