LAFAYETTE, La. – A fast start – five under par through the first seven holes – from Alex McCulla helped set the pace for the Redbirds, who closed out play at the 40th Annual Louisiana Classics, hosted by the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

McCulla's big final round saw him climb 23 spots into 38th at the end of the 54 holes, while the team was led over the course of the three rounds by freshman Max Faucquez, who shot a three-over 219 for the tournament.

Seventh-ranked LSU won the team title with a three-round 845, while 24th-ranked Texas A&M was two strokes behind with an 847. Host Louisiana (859) and 38th-ranked Little Rock (865) finished third and fourth, respectively, while Sam Houston (871), South Alabama (871), Louisiana Tech (876), Middle Tennessee (877), and Rice (880), all finished ahead of ISU (887), with Oral Roberts (887) and Texas State (891) rounding out the dozen schools in the tournament field.

McCulla opened his final round with three consecutive birdies and was never over par at any point during the final 18 holes. After a bogey and par, his sixth and seventh holes consisted of a birdie and eagle, and he finished his final 11 holes at three over par to finish with a team-tournament-low two-under 70 for the round, and he finished 28th overall for ISU.

Faucquez had a balanced three rounds at the tournament with scores of 72, 73, and 74. In his final round he had a birdie, 14 pars and three bogeys for his two-over final round, and with a 219, he was the top individual tournament finisher for the Birds, at 26th.

Pietro Pontiggia finished the tournament with a three-over 75 in the final round, as he had three birdies and 11 pars, while Will Troy rounded out the scoring four for ISU with a four-over 76 behind four birdies and eight pars. Troy ended in 45th place while Pontiggia closed in 72nd.

TJ Barger, who tied for 56th overall in the field, shot a six-over 78 in the final round as he had a trio of birdies, while Francis Bautista, playing as an individual, carded a 12-over 84 to finish 77th.

The Redbirds are next in action on Monday, March 31 when the squad travels to Memphis, Tennessee, to compete in the Memphis Intercollegiate, hosted at Colonial Country Club.

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