FGCU W-Golf: A-SUN Championship Recap

Following heavy rain, the FGCU women’s golf team vaulted up into a tie for fourth place to conclude the A-SUN Championship on Tuesday at Chateau Elan’s Legends Course in Braselton, Ga. The Eagles finished with a final score of 620 (+44) tying with Jacksonville. The eventual winner of the tournament was host Kennesaw with a final score of 601 (+25), thus Kennesaw earned a ticket to the national tournament.

“I am thrilled with our performance today,” FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. “Unfortunately, we had some pretty major weather issues that didn’t allow us to get the final round in as I think we could have moved up the leaderboard even more.

The Eagles shot a 291 in the final round, which was the second best among all teams behind Kennesaw State’s 288. In fact, the team made as the Green and Blue shaved 38 strokes off Sunday’s 329.

Beginning day one of the tournament, the Eagles sat in fifth place finishing with a score of 329 (+37), which was the biggest turnaround among all teams from the opening round.

“We dug ourselves into quite a bit of a hole after the first round and had to do something spectacular to move up the leaderboard today, and that is just what we did. When we talked as a team on Sunday, we stressed having nothing worse than bogey and we accomplished that goal today. It was great to end the year on a high note by posting the second best round of the tournament.”

It was junior Madeline Marck-Sherk who led the Eagles. Marck-Sherk began the tournament in sixth place, shooting a 77 in the opening round. The Ridgeway, Ontario native shot a 70 in the final round finishing with a two-round 147 (+3), which tied Kennesaw State’s Charlotte Charrayre for second place and behind the eventual individual winner Madison Caldwell. Marck-Sherk’s performance earned her a spot on the A-SUN All-Tournament Team

“I am so proud of Madeline,” Trew said. “She came into this tournament not playing her best golf, but still had the mindset of winning the tournament. She has worked so hard all year on her game, in the gym and on her mental game. I could not be happier to see it all come to fruition this week for her.”

Sophomore Ailsa Clark tied with three others for 10th place with a +12 and a final score of 156 (84-72). It was the second lowest score of the year for the sophomore since the Pat Bradley Invitational.

Sophomore Kate Williamson finished third among FGCU golfers with a +14 and a final score of 158 (86-72), tying for 16th overall with Clark.

A-SUN Freshman of the Year Natalia Nassar finished in a tie for 24th place with a +18 and a final score of 162 (85-77) with junior Kelsy Holbert (83-79).

Quotes from other coaches:
"It feels so good for this trophy be back in our hands," Kennesaw head coach Rhyll Brinsmead said. "This was a very frustrating few days with the amount of rain we had coming in and the uncertainty of whether we would be able to play another 18 holes of golf. The team did an outstanding job of staying patient and trusting what we had done the entire year. We have a wonderful group of young women who work every day to represent Kennesaw State at the highest level and we look forward to advancing to NCAA regional play."

"I'm so incredibly proud of Madison for winning the individual title," Brinsmead said on Caldwell. "She made six birdies today which was so impressive given the conditions."

"It was tough battling the elements, both on the course and waiting out the rain," said JU head coach Jennifer Borocz. "We unfortunately did not shoot as low as we would have liked to out there this week."