LAKE BLUFF, Ill. (SMU) – Will Sides won the individual title at the Stephens Cup for the second consecutive season, taking the title by two strokes at Shoreacres.
 
Sides came into the day trailing Noah McWilliams of LSU by three strokes. He was tied for second with Christiaan Maas of Texas at 6-under par. Sides and the Mustangs started their round on the 10^th hole Sides began his day with five straight par before moving to seven under with a birdie on No. 15. He was back to six-under at the turn. McWilliams played three-over on his front nine to bring the scores even. Maas and Sides, playing in the same pairing, duked it out as well until Maas went double double on No. 7 and No. 8. Sides sent himself ahead for good with a lengthy birdie putt on his second to last hole. He would two-putt the final ninth hole to clinch the title.
 
Sides became the first Mustang since at least 1980 to win the same tournament in back-to-back seasons. It was the sixth top 10 finish since the start of last year for the Tulsa native.
 
As a team, the Mustangs moved from fifth to sixth on the final day. They shot six-over par to finish at four-over. The team's best round came with a six-under round two. They missed out on a chance to play in the match play matches for third or first place.
 
Christian Clark finished in a tie for 11^th, tied for his second-best collegiate performance after a second-place showing at the Spring Individual at Win Star in April of 2024. He birdied 14 times during the week and ended competition with his third straight par or better score.
 
Zachary Kingsland shot a 73 during the final day to finish in a tie for 28^th. He ended the tournament at four-over. Gabe Post finished in 33^rd while Areen Aggarwal finished in 35^th.
 
The Mustangs return to Illinois for the Windon Memorial Invitational hosted by Northwestern September 29-30.
 
 
TEAM LEADERBAORD
1 LSU -14
2 North Carolina -11
3 Arizona -10
4 Northwestern -3
5 Texas -2
6 SMU +4
 
SMU LEADERBOARD
1 Will Sides -7
T11 Christian Clark -2
T28 Zachary Kingsland +4
33 Gabe Post +11
35 Areen Aggarwal +16