FGCU W. Golf: Lady Furman Invitational Recap- Day One

Sophomore Natalia Nassar fired a 71 (-1) in her season debut, and her performance led the FGCU women's golf team to a 298 (+10) score and an eighth-place standing in the opening round of the Lady Paladin Invitational at the Furman University Golf Course on Friday.

"Overall, it was a decent start to the tournament," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "As a team you could tell we didn't have our best stuff, but I️ am proud of how we grinded it out. Nat and Kelsy both had really solid rounds today and put the team on their shoulders. Tomorrow is moving day, and we have put ourselves in a good position to move up the leaderboard."

Nassar, who missed the team's season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge, birdied her second hole and overcame an up-and-down back nine with three birdies over an eight-hole stretch to sit in a tie for seventh individually. The round represented the fourth time in her career that she shot a 71 or better, and it was one off matching her career-low of 70, which she achieved  in the opening round of the Dale McNamara Invitational on April 9 of last year.

Snior Kelsy Holbert, who led the Green and Blue with a team-low 222 (+9) at the season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge, continued her fine start to the season with a 73 (+1) opening round, which has her in a tie for 20th place. Holbert stayed consistent throughout the round and picked up her lone birdie on the par-5 11th hole, which was her second of the day.

Junior Kate Williamson joined Nassar in making her season debut. After shooting +3 on her front-nine, she birdied the second hole and trimmed a stroke off her score over the final nine.

Freshman Laura Edmonds, who made her collegiate debut on Friday, and senior Madeline Marck-Sherk rounded out the lineup. Edmonds shook off a +4 over her first four holes and shot a +1 over the final 14 holes, while Marck-Sherk finished at +7.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T-7. Natalia Nassar – 71 (-1)
T-20. Kelsy Holbert – 73 (+1)
T-56. Kate Williamson – 77 (+5)
T-56. Laura Edmonds – 77 (+5)
T-73. Madeline Marck-Sherk – 79 (+7)

Team Standings (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of June 7)
1. #8 – Furman – 283 (-5)
2. #106 - North Florida – 287 (-1)
3. #48 - Kennesaw State – 290 (+2)
4. #65 - Coastal Carolina – 293 (+5)
5. #72 – Augusta – 295 (+7)
T-6. #90 – Kansas – 297 (+9)
T-6. #60 - Old Dominion – 297 (+9)
8. #128 - FGCU – 298 (+10)
T-9. #155 - South Florida – 299 (+11)
T-9. #141 – Tulsa – 299 (+11)
11. #74 - Kansas State – 302 (+14)
12. #67 – Memphis - 303 (+15)
13. #150 - Georgia Southern – 304 (+16)
14. #147 - James Madison – 308 (+20)
T-15. #151 - Georgia State – 310 (+22)
T-15. #1 - Daytona State (NJCAA) – 310 (+22)