BARK RIVER, Mich. – Paced by four-under final-round scores from TJ Barger and Max Faucquez on Monday, the Illinois State men's golf team climbed two spots into eighth place overall with a three-round tournament score of 845, tied for the ninth-best tournament score in program history.
Illinois State's final-round score of 276 is tied for the sixth-best single-round in the history of the program, as all four of ISU's scoring players were at least two shots under par through the 18 holes. The Redbirds climbed to eighth overall, passing UTEP (847) and tournament host South Dakota State (852), and remained ahead of Miami (Ohio) (861), and Ball State (862). West Virginia won the event behind a team score of 809 and was followed by Purdue (815), Michigan (822), Michigan State (832), St. Mary's (285), Nebraska (276), and UCF (841).
Leading the way for the Redbirds was Barger, who started his day by holing out for eagle on the par-four 10th hole, and never looked back for his final-round 68. His tournament score of 205 is the 11th-best single-round score in program history, and a new collegiate low for the Bloomington native.
Faucquez finished inside of the top-15 individually at 11th, behind rounds of 70, 69, and a final-round score of 68 which marks his new collegiate low round. Over the three rounds he carded a 207 (-9), another personal-best for a career, topping his previous tournament-best score by nine strokes.
Francis Bautista tied his career-low round (70) and tournament score (216) over the weekend, ending the three rounds at even par and tied for 47th overall in the tournament field.
Pietro Pontiggia, the team's individual for the tournament, closed play with a three-under 69, finishing the 56 holes with a one-over 217, tied for 53rd. Teammate Aiden Cudney also finished with a 217, ending his tournament with a two-under 70 on the final round, setting new career-bests for lowest round and tournament scores in the process. Playing in his first college tournament, Gonzalo Cuellar finished in 81st place as a final-round 75 (+3).
In 10 days the Redbirds are back in action, as the team will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to compete in the Ram Masters Invitational, hosted by Colorado State University.
