URBANA, Ill. – Behind a start in which ISU was seven under par through the first three holes of the day, the Redbirds closed with a top-10 finish at the 2025 NCAA Urbana Regional, as the tournament marked the ends of the careers of ISU standouts Alex McCulla and Will Troy.
Second-ranked Oklahoma State and tournament host and 14th-ranked Illinois tied for the top spot in the field with a tournament score of 837, while 35th-ranked UNLV (846), Troy (850), and 23rd-ranked Texas Tech (851) rounded out the top five, earning those schools a spot into the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Tenth-ranked North Carolina (859), 38th-ranked Houston (862), 47th-ranked Marquette (863), and 26th-ranked Long Beach State (866) were the only other teams to finish ahead of ISU's 867. Pacific (872), Wright State (876), and NC State (xxx) rounded out the schools in the tournament field.
Troy was the team's top finisher on the day, carding a one-under 70 in his final collegiate round, and he tied for 41st overall as an individual over the three rounds.
TJ Barger closed out the season with an even-par final round of 71, and his three-round 215 was the team's top individual finish over the three rounds, as he finished tied for 27th.
McCulla, ISU's second senior in the tournament field, shot a three-over 74 in his final round, as the three-time NCAA Regional participant tied for 34th with a three-round 216.
Freshman Max Faucquez finished four over par in his final round of the season, and his three-round total of 219 is tied for the 43rd-best tournament score by a freshman in program history, and he tied for 45th in the tournament.
Pietro Pontiggia finished with a three-over 74 in the final round, and his three-round tournament score of 223 saw him tie for 56th overall.
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