WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – On a windy day and in a tournament field with six Big Ten schools, the Illinois State Redbirds took fourth overall, topping four of the schools from the conference.
The Redbirds finished with a three-round 878 and were behind only 21st-ranked Illinois (842), 31st-ranked Purdue (850), and finished one stroke behind Eastern Michigan (877). The 'Birds were even with Rutgers (878), and ahead of Troy (884), Minnesota (892), Miami-Ohio (892), Indiana (893), Wisconsin (896), Ball State (903), Butler (923), Loyola (924), and IUPUI (931).
"Brisk winds from the opposite direction and cold temperatures made for another challenging day today," said Kralis. "Everyone was going to deal with adversity at some point, and the guys did a good job of staying positive and competing until the end. Overall, this was a solid team effort that earned some quality wins and built some needed momentum."
ISU returns to action next Saturday and Sunday for the 54-hole Hawkeye Invitational hosted at Finkbine Golf Course, while the following weekend the team will compete at the MVC Championships on Sunday, April 24-26.
Alex McCulla tied for the low mark on the team on the day, finishing with a one-over 72, and placing in a tie for 14th overall. He opened his day with a trio of pars, followed by a birdie, and was at or under par for 17 of the 18 holes on the day. After a bogey on the sixth hole dropped him back to even par, he stayed at par until he carded a birdie on the par-five 16th hole. He closed his day with a pair of bogeys, to finish with the one-over 72.
Felix van Dijk was the second finisher on the day for ISU and tied for the second-lowest scorer for the tournament. His three-round total saw him tie for 25th, and he closed with a one-over 72. In his final round he started with a bogey, before rebounding well with a birdie on his second and fourth holes and stayed at one under through the turn after five consecutive pars. He traded off two straight bogeys to start the back nine with two consecutive pars, and was followed by two more bogeys, pushing him to one over par with three holes remaining, which he recorded a par on each to finish with the one-over final score.
Joe Hodgson finished with a six-over 77 on the final round and tied for 25th overall for the three-round tournament. He opened his day with four straight pars, before closing his last 14 holes with nine pars and five over-par scores, going into the clubhouse with the team's third-lowest score on the day.
Valentin Peugnet closed his day with a seven-over 78, finishing tied for 37th in the field for the tournament. He had three birdies in his final round, along with eight pars and seven over-par scores for the team's fourth scorer on the day.
Andrew O'Brien opened and closed his final round strong with birdies on his first two holes, and another on the final hole. In between he had eight pars and seven over-par holes, closing the day with an eight-over 79, finishing tied for 33rd in the field.
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