COLUMBIA, Mo. – After having the second round suspended yesterday because of darkness, the Illinois State men's golf team came back to finish the second round, and complete the third, as ISU tied for 12th in the 19-school tournament field.
Tournament host Missouri took home the team title with a three-round 833, while Iowa State (840), St. Mary's (845), Xavier (847), Kansas (848), Tarleton State (856), Nebraska (857), South Dakota (861), South Dakota State (861), UTSA (866), and Wichita State (868) finished ahead of the Redbirds' 873, as UTRGV also finished the tournament with an 873. Central Arkansas (878), Oral Roberts (880), Drake (881), Lamar (883), Missouri State (900), and Central Michigan (901) rounded out the 19 schools in the tournament.
TJ Barger was ISU's top finisher at the event with a three-round score of 216 (67, 74, 75), as he had eight birdies and one of eight total eagles over his 54 holes, as he finished six shots over par. His par five scoring for the tournament, at 4.67, was tied for the fifth lowest in the field, as he tied for 35th overall in the tournament.
Max Faucquez' 219 came via rounds of 75, 66, and 78, as the 66 is tied for the 19th-lowest single-round score in program history, and tied for the third lowest by a sophomore. He had nine birdies over the 54 holes, and his par three scoring average (2.92) is tied for the third lowest in the tournament, as he placed 54th individually.
Freshman Gonzalo Cuellar tied for 67th with rounds of 77, 69, and 76 for his three-round 222, as he had seven birdies over the 54 holes. Sophomore Aiden Cudney tied for 71st one stroke behind Cuellar, with rounds of 76, 72, and 75, as he had 10 birdies during his tournament. Pietro Pontiggia's 11 birdies for the tournament are tied for the fifth-most in the field, as he had rounds of 74, 70, and 80 for his 54-hole score of 224, tying for 76th.
The Redbirds have one final pre-MVC Tournament tune-up on Monday, April 20, when the team travels to Dublin, Ohio, to compete in the single-day Muirfield Shootout, hosted at the Country Club of Muirfield Village.
