McLean County Times

Illinois State freshman Max Faucquez emerged as the leading performer for the Redbirds during the opening round of the 40th Annual Louisiana Classics, held at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana. Faucquez completed the 36-hole first day one over par, securing a tie for 23rd place individually. His teammates Will Troy, TJ Barger, and Alex McCulla ended their rounds at +4, +5, and +6 respectively.

Seventh-ranked LSU topped the leaderboard after two rounds with a score of 561 (279-282). They were followed by Texas A&M with 564, tournament host Louisiana with 569, and Little Rock with 577. Other schools such as Sam Houston (579), South Alabama (581), Rice (583), Oral Roberts (586), Louisiana Tech (587), and Texas State (588) were ahead of Illinois State's total score of 592. Middle Tennessee trailed closely behind with a score of 595.

Faucquez's performance included two birdies and two bogeys in his initial even-par round. He concluded his day with three additional birdies in his second-round score of one-over-par 73. Troy managed an even-par second round after starting strong with a birdie on his second hole during his four-over first round.

McCulla recorded three birdies in both rounds to finish each at three-over-par. Barger also had a consistent showing across both rounds while Pietro Pontiggia improved from an opening-round score of 81 to a second-round score of 78.

Francis Bautista played as an individual participant and scored rounds of 79 and 82 respectively.

The Redbirds are scheduled to tee off on the first hole tomorrow morning alongside Middle Tennessee and Texas State starting at 7:48 a.m.

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