The top-seeded FGCU women's golf team produced a 3-1-1 win over ninth-seeded Central Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Match Play Challenge on Monday afternoon at Lakewood Ranch Country Club to open the spring season.
In doing so, the Eagles advance to Tuesday's semifinal round to face fourth-seeded Akron, who defeated fifth-seeded Illinois State 3-2-0 in another quarterfinal. The winner will meet either No. 2 Northern Illinois or No. 3 Bowling Green in an afternoon final, while the two losers will compete for third place.
"We had a pretty good day today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I think we definitely had some nerves, and you could tell there was a little bit of first-tournament rust to knock off, but we entered with the goal of advancing to the next round, and I think we handled ourselves very well. We didn't panic if we lost a hole and now that we have the first round under our belt, we can go out there Tuesday and play more aggressively. I believe if we do this, we will end up in a good spot and be able to move on."
The trio of Laura Edmonds, Kelsy Holbert and Ailsa Clark took care of business by winning 5&3, 4&2 and 4&3, respectively. Madeline Marck-Sherk won three of the final four holes to even up her match, while Natalia Nassar nearly tied her pairing up on the final hole, but fell by two.
Edmonds lost just two holes en route to her victory. She won the first three, led by two at the turn and captured 10, 11 and 15 to end her pairing. Holbert, meanwhile, clinched her matchup on the 16th hole after jumping out to a two-hole lead midway through. Clark started out strong by winning three of the first six holes. Later, she won three straight starting at No. 12 to go up by four holes. After an even finish on 15, she clinched the match.
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Central Michigan: "Didn't seem like the girls had really missed a beat," said first-year Chippewa coach Jim Earle, whose team put together a remarkable fall, during which they broke out with top-five finishes in four of their five tournaments. "They've hit the ball really well. We were playing really well (against Ohio) and it was a good exciting match. To come up with four wins was really good for us."
Western Illinois: "We made a lot of pars this morning but not enough birdies to stay with Illinois State," said head coach Lia Biehl Lukkarinen. "We won two matches this afternoon and missed chances to win others. Overall we gained some experience, improved our putting and are looking forward to competing tomorrow."
Individual Quarterfinal Results
1. Laura Edmonds (FGCU) d. Jami Laude - 5&3
2. Madeline Marck-Sherk vs Meghan Deardorff (Central Michigan)- A/S
3. Kelsy Holbert (FGCU) d. Danielle Sawyer - 4&2
4. Holly Hines (Central Michigan) d. Natalia Nassar - 2 UP
5. Ailsa Clark (FGCU) d. Bria Colosky - 4&3
Team Results - First Round
No. 9 Central Michigan def. No. 8 Ohio - 4-1-0
No. 5 Illinois State def. No. 12 Western Illinois - 5-0-0
No. 7 Western Michigan def. No. 10 Morehead State - 5-0-0
No. 6 Eastern Michigan def. No. 11 Purdue Fort Wayne - 5-0-0
Team Results - Quarterfinals
No. 1 FGCU def. No. 9 Central Michigan - 3-1-1
No. 4 Akron def. No. 5 Illinois State - 3-2-0
No. 2 Northern Illinois def. No. 7 Western Michigan - 4-1-0
No. 3 Bowling Green def. No. 6 Eastern Michigan - 3-2-0
Tuesday's Schedule
Semifinal - No. 1 FGCU vs No. 4 Akron
Semifinal - No. 2 Northern Illinois vs No. 3 Bowling Green
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