McLean County Times

Illinois State University secured the second position at the 2025 Hawkeye Invite, held at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City. The Redbirds recorded a final-round score of 290, which was the second-lowest score on that day, enabling them to move up two positions by the end of the tournament.

The tournament saw Illinois State surpass host Iowa and the 40th-ranked Little Rock to take the runner-up spot, finishing just behind Kansas, which is ranked 50th nationally. Kansas finished with a team score of 837, leaving Illinois State trailing with an 856. Iowa took third with an 857, followed by Little Rock with 864. The rest of the field included South Dakota State with 878, Minnesota with 879, Northern Illinois with 881, Kansas City and Drake both with 899, North Dakota State with 900, Southern Illinois with 903, Wichita State with 904, and Missouri State with 906.

Individually, Will Troy and TJ Barger tied for fifth place overall, achieving a 54-hole score of 212 (-4). Alex McCulla, who had a team-low round of 70 on the final day, finished with a total of 217, tying for 13th place. Pietro Pontiggia contributed by tying for 17th with a score of 219. Freshmen Max Faucquez and Aiden Cudney tied for 58th and 61st places, respectively.

During the final round, McCulla made seven birdies and eight pars to complete with a 70 (-2), sharing the top spot for the best par-four score of 3.87 strokes. Barger shot an even-par 72, recording three birdies and twelve pars, and shared the lowest strokes per round on par-5's with 4.08. Faucquez recorded a one-over 73 in the final round with five birdies and eight pars. Pontiggia ended with a three-over 75 with a single birdie and 13 pars. Troy's final round score was 77 (+5), his par-4 average of 3.90 was the third best among the participants.

Cudney, competing as an individual, concluded his tournament with a birdie and four pars in the final round.

The next challenge for the Illinois State team is the 2025 MVC Championship, scheduled from April 20-22, in Des Moines, Iowa.

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