Day One:
In the beginning of the tournament, FGCU, who was the No. 2 seed, had a first round bye and awaited the winner between No. 7 Dayton and No. 10 Ohio. FGCU defeated No. 7 Ohio by a score of 4-1.
"Today was a good start for us," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I think we started out a little rusty as you could tell we had not been in competition for some time. However, as we turned to the back nine, we started to gain some momentum and got much more comfortable."
Results:
Junior Madeline Marck-Sherk defeated junior Nicole Smiley 4&3.
Freshman Natalia Nassar defeated senior Lily Pendy 1 UP.
Junior Kelsy Holbert defeated sophomore Marissa Balish 3&1.
Redshirt junior Ashley Kimbrough defeated freshman Ashley Flynn 7&5
Senior Madison Easterbrook fell to junior Emily Hughes by a score of 1&3.
The Eagles awaited the winner between No. 6 seed and host Bowling Green and No. 3 seed Northern at the end of day one.
Day Two:
FGCU faced Nothern Illinois in the semifinals in a winning fashion by a close score of 3-2.
Results:
Marck-Sherk defeated junior Brielle Ward 1UP.
Nassar defeated junior Kelly Anderson 2UP.
Holbert defeated sophomore Karoline Stormo 1 UP.
Easterbrook fell 2 UP to freshman Sofia Gomez Enriquez Riart while Kimbrough fell 1 UP to freshman Lauren Ingle.
FGCU faced Nothern Illinois in the semifinals in a winning fashion by a close score of 3-2.
Results:
Marck-Sherk defeated junior Brielle Ward 1UP.
Nassar defeated junior Kelly Anderson 2UP.
Holbert defeated sophomore Karoline Stormo 1 UP.
Easterbrook fell 2 UP to freshman Sofia Gomez Enriquez Riart while Kimbrough fell 1 UP to freshman Lauren Ingle.
"I could not be more pleased with how we played today," Trew said. "We were down in some matches against NIU with our backs up against the wall and to come back the way we did was awesome. It was close the whole way through and with Kelsy and Nat winning, we needed Madeline to come back in her match, and she came back from three down to win. We showed a lot of guts to hang in there and get the win."
Going into the finals, the Eagles would fall to No. 1 seed Kent State by a score of 2-3.
Holbert and Nassar had the lone wins for FGCU. Holbert defeated junior Kasey Nielsen 2&1, while Nassar defeated sophomore Karoline Stormo 1 UP.
Kimbrough fell to junior Michaela Finn 2&3, Easterbrook fell 2&4 to freshman Chloe Salort and Marck-Sherk fell 2 UP to sophomore Pimnipa Panthong.
"We knew we were going to have our hands full with Kent State being a top-25 team," Trew said. "We played hard and came up just short, but I think we gained a lot of confidence knowing that we can go toe to toe with a top program and really challenge them. I think this will be a big step for our program."
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Kent State: "Overall, it was a good first week for us, coming away with a win and going 12-3 overall," said head coach Greg Robertson. "With this being our first tournament, we definitely have some things to work on, but I saw a lot of things that we can move forward with and feel good about."
"Florida Gulf Coast played well and gave us a good run," said Robertson. "It was good for us to handle that. It was nice to get some good competition and a little bit of pressure as we get into our schedule. I think it will be beneficial for us as we move forward."
WMU: "We didn't have our best today against two good teams," said head coach Elise Swartout-Mosher. "We fought hard but came up short down the stretch. Even with that, it was a great week of learning for us and we are looking forward to being back in Arizona in a few weeks for the Rio Verde Invitational."
Northern Illinois: "[We] played a tough FGCU team," said head women's golf coach Kim Kester on the Huskies semifinal match. "Unfortunately, we couldn't close out the match."
Central Michigan: “Two out of three is pretty good,” said CMU coach Cheryl Stacy, whose team opened on Monday with a loss to Bowling Green, followed by a victory over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. “We were a little upset losing to Bowling Green because it did knock us out of (the chance) to play four rounds. I was really pleased with the consistency of play. We started a little slow, but finished pretty strong as a team. We’re just a better team and you could see it. We’re competitive with MAC teams, and we’re starting to beat some teams. There is room for improvement too. It’s exciting and encouraging.”
Final Results:
#1 Kent State
#2 FGCU
#3 NIU
#4 WMU
#5 Akron
#6 Ohio
#7 UNC Asheville
#8 Bowling Green
#9 EMU
#10 Central Michigan
#11 Dayton
#12 Ft. Wayne
Up next, the Eagles return to action as they compete in the Amelia Island Collegiate hosted by fellow conference member Jacksonville University on February 19-20.
Going into the finals, the Eagles would fall to No. 1 seed Kent State by a score of 2-3.
Holbert and Nassar had the lone wins for FGCU. Holbert defeated junior Kasey Nielsen 2&1, while Nassar defeated sophomore Karoline Stormo 1 UP.
Kimbrough fell to junior Michaela Finn 2&3, Easterbrook fell 2&4 to freshman Chloe Salort and Marck-Sherk fell 2 UP to sophomore Pimnipa Panthong.
"We knew we were going to have our hands full with Kent State being a top-25 team," Trew said. "We played hard and came up just short, but I think we gained a lot of confidence knowing that we can go toe to toe with a top program and really challenge them. I think this will be a big step for our program."
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Kent State: "Overall, it was a good first week for us, coming away with a win and going 12-3 overall," said head coach Greg Robertson. "With this being our first tournament, we definitely have some things to work on, but I saw a lot of things that we can move forward with and feel good about."
"Florida Gulf Coast played well and gave us a good run," said Robertson. "It was good for us to handle that. It was nice to get some good competition and a little bit of pressure as we get into our schedule. I think it will be beneficial for us as we move forward."
WMU: "We didn't have our best today against two good teams," said head coach Elise Swartout-Mosher. "We fought hard but came up short down the stretch. Even with that, it was a great week of learning for us and we are looking forward to being back in Arizona in a few weeks for the Rio Verde Invitational."
Northern Illinois: "[We] played a tough FGCU team," said head women's golf coach Kim Kester on the Huskies semifinal match. "Unfortunately, we couldn't close out the match."
Central Michigan: “Two out of three is pretty good,” said CMU coach Cheryl Stacy, whose team opened on Monday with a loss to Bowling Green, followed by a victory over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. “We were a little upset losing to Bowling Green because it did knock us out of (the chance) to play four rounds. I was really pleased with the consistency of play. We started a little slow, but finished pretty strong as a team. We’re just a better team and you could see it. We’re competitive with MAC teams, and we’re starting to beat some teams. There is room for improvement too. It’s exciting and encouraging.”
#1 Kent State
#2 FGCU
#3 NIU
#4 WMU
#5 Akron
#6 Ohio
#7 UNC Asheville
#8 Bowling Green
#9 EMU
#10 Central Michigan
#11 Dayton
#12 Ft. Wayne
Up next, the Eagles return to action as they compete in the Amelia Island Collegiate hosted by fellow conference member Jacksonville University on February 19-20.
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