STANFORD, Calif. — Gabriel Smith posted his second consecutive even-par round of 70 to lead the Sacramento State men's golf team in the final round of the NCAA Stanford Regional on Wednesday at Stanford Golf Course. The Hornets finished the tournament in 13th place after totaling 296-276-290-862. The final score and the score relative to par are the lowest three-round totals in school NCAA Div. I Regional history.

Smith also moved to the top of the Hornet record book with a 54-hole total of 72-70-70-212. His total was six strokes better than the previous best while his 2-over tally ties him with Jordan Weir at the 2013 Pullman Regional.

On Wednesday, Smith birdied the par-5 first hole and then save par with clutch shots on the second and third. He later bogeyed the par-4 sixth but birdies the par-3 eighth to make the turn at 1-under. Smith started the back nine with a bogey and then birdied the par-4 11th to return to 1-under. A bogey on the par-3 14th moved him back to even and he finished there following a birdie on the par-5 16th and a bogey on the par-3 17th.

Senior Jeffrey Perry ranked second on the team during the round with a 2-over par 72. Perry also birdied the first hole but bogeyed No. 2 before carding seven consecutive pars. His back nine featured seven more pars to go along with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 14. Perry finished the tournament at 75-67-72-214 for his second-best 54-hole score as a Hornet.

Luke Dugger matched Perry's total with rounds of 70-69-75-214. The pair are now tied for the second-lowest 54-hole total in school Div. I Regional history and are tied for third relative to par. Dugger had birdies on Nos. 1 and 7, bogeys on Nos. 3 and 5 and a double bogey on the par-4 second to stand at 2-over at the midway point of his third round. After he began the back nine with a bogey, he birdied the par-4 11th and 13th to get back to 1-over. However, double bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18 left him 5-over on the round.

Zach Mate and Zach Matzke each shot 74 in the third round. Mate had two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey. Matzke, who was subbed into the lineup on Wednesday, had an identical collection scores as he played the front nine at 4-over and the back nine even.

Illinois won the tournament by eight strokes and finished at 36-under par as a team. The Fighting Illini will be joined at the NCAA Championships by Florida State, Texas A&M, SMU and Stanford. The last two teams in that group finished one stroke ahead of Ole Miss to earn the final berths. Minnesota's Ben Warian, who played the tournament as an individual and was paired with the Hornets in all three rounds, also advanced to the NCAA Championships after shooting 65-69-65-199.

Season Notes

• The Hornets finished the year with a team scoring average of 289.27 strokes per round which ranks second all-time in school history.
• Four Hornets finished in the top 20 of single-season scoring average in Sacramento State single-season history. Zach Mate is eighth with an average of 72.59. Luke Dugger is 13th (72.73), Gabriel Smith is 18th (73.10) and Jeffrey Perry is 19th (73.17).
• Dugger's 36 rounds played are tied for the second most by a Hornet in a single season.
• Mate and Smith are tied for fourth place at Sacramento State with seven rounds in the 60s during the year.
• Mate is tied for sixth with 16 rounds at or below par.
• Dugger set the school record with a scoring average of 71.0 in the first round of tournaments in a year.

NCAA STANFORD REGIONAL
Stanford, Calif. | Stanford GC
Par 72 | 6,727 Yards

Team Standings
1. Illinois 263-270-271-804
2. Florida State 267-267-278-812
3. Texas A&M 271-268-282-821
T4. SMU 285-265-280-830
T4. Stanford 269-284-277-830
6. Ole Miss 271-276-284-831
7. UCLA 277-280-278-835
8. Augusta 280-278-283-841
9. UNLV 281-277-289-847
10. Missouri 286-276-296-848
11. Liberty 286-286-281-853
12. Fresno State 286-282-280-858
13. Sacramento State 296-276-290-862
14. Siena 287-299-288-874

Individual Top Five
1. Max Hernedeen, ILL, 63-68-66-197
T2. Ben Warian, MINN, 65-69-65-199
T2. Frederik Khettrup, FSU, 67-65-67-199
T2. Phichaksn Maichon, TAMU, 66-65-68-199
T5. Michael Thorbjornsen, STAN, 65-71-64-200
T5. Tyler Koecke, ILL, 65-67-68-200
T5. Luke Clanton, FSU, 65-66-69-200

Sacramento State Scores
T36. Gabriel Smith 72-70-70-212
T47. Luke Dugger 70-69-75-214
T47. Jeffrey Perry 75-67-72-214
T85. Zach Mate 79-70-74-223
— Jake Aberle 79-77-DNP
— Zach Matzeke DNP-DNP-74