MADISON, Wis. – Florida Gulf Coast University men's golf outlasted Illinois State and Middle Tennessee State to win the Badger Invitational Tuesday.

"We struggled a bit in the beginning of the round, but I'm super proud of the determination and the grit our guys showed to give us a chance at the end to pull it off," head coach Andrew Danna said. "Winning is hard, and it just validates the hard work that our student-athletes put in on a daily basis to be successful."

FGCU prevailed over the Red Birds and the Blue Raiders by one stroke. FGCU, Illinois State and MTSU were in a three-way tie at 14-under-par heading into the final hole.

With pressure rising, both Illinois State and MTSU stumbled and surrendered two strokes. FGCU capitalized by only giving back one stroke for its tournament-winning 13-under-par effort. FGCU jumped out to a commanding lead in round one Sunday as the Eagles boasted a 14-under-par, 274 team score and held on Monday and Tuesday for the victory.

Tuesday's team title marked the fourth win for coach Danna and the first since March of 2022.

Austin Cherichella tied for second on the player leaderboard to lead all Eagles, producing a final-round 70 to enter the clubhouse at seven-under for the three-day event. Cherichella opened the tournament with a season-low 65 en route to tie his career-best finish. 

Cherichella came up just one stroke short of the individual medalist, Joshua Hill from South Alabama.

Matt Millar produced a season-best effort by tying for 19th at one-under. He recorded back-to-back under-par scorecards, 69 and 70, in rounds one and two.

Evan Thompson tied for 35th, and Sebastian Gamboa finished tied for 43rd. 

On Tuesday, Thomas Salanito won the individual event at TPC Wisconsin, finishing with a two-under, 211 performance.

FGCU returns to course Oct. 8-10 for the ETSU Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in Johnson City, Tennessee.