KETTERING, Ohio – Using a final-round team score of 292, the Illinois State men's golf team picked up its first win of the fall season since September 5, 2022, when the Birds picked up a victory at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, and ISU has now picked up a tournament win in each of the last eight full seasons.
The Redbirds and Butler Bulldogs ended knotted with a 54-hole score of 867, five strokes ahead of tournament host Dayton. Ball State (873), Wright State (875), Toledo (878), DePaul (880), Loyola Chicago (888), Ohio (890), Oakland (897), Cleveland State (899), and Marshall (918) rounded out the dozen schools in the tournament.
TJ Barger had his fourth top-10 finish of the fall season – in five total events – as he placed sixth with an even-par 213 for the tournament, including an even-par 71 in the final round. Barger had four birdies and 10 pars in his final round, as he ends the fall season with a tournament stroke average of 70.1, which at his current pace would be the second-lowest season average in program history. His 40 career rounds at or under par is tied for the fifth-most over a career in program history, alongside Zach Burry (2014-18).
Max Faucquez and Francis Bautista each closed play tied for 13th in the field, Faucquez finishing with three birdies and 10 pars in his final-round 74, while Bautista had three birdies and 11 pars for his final-round 72, as the duo each had a three-round tournament score of 217.
Pietro Pontiggia had rounds of 70, 76, and a final-round 75 with four birdies and six pars, ending the tournament with an eight-over 221, tying him for 25th. His 11 birdies over the three rounds are tied for the sixth-most in the field for the week, along with teammate Barger.
Freshmen Sam Ottwell (t-51st, 228) and Gonzalo Cuellar (t-75th, 238) each had two birdies on the final round, Ottwell as part of the Redbird scoring contingent, and Cuellar as an individual.
The Dayton tournament ended the fall season for ISU, and the team opens the spring portion of the schedule on February 16 at the Border Olympics, hosted by the University of Houston in Laredo, Texas.
