FGCU W. Golf: Mid-American Play Challenge Day Two Recap

The top-seeded FGCU women's golf team came from behind to defeat No. 4 Akron 3-1-1 in the semifinals, but lost a tiebreaker to No. 3 Bowling Green to finish runner-up in the Mid-American Match Play Challenge at Lakewood Ranch Country Club on Tuesday.

"We are obviously disappointed with our result today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "In our morning match, we were down and fought our way back. I loved how we gutted it out and came away with the win. In the afternoon, it just caught up to us. We were down most of the day, but were able to come back and force a playoff. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes and Bowling Green was able to get the best of us. Hats off to them because they played so tough and wouldn't let up. We know we need to work on short game and putting for the next couple weeks in order to be ready for Amelia Island."

The Eagles finished regulation tied 2-2-1 against BGSU with victories from senior Ailsa Clark and freshman Laura Edmonds. In the tiebreaker, each of the five pairs competed in a sudden-death round. The first four pairs tied, but the Falcons won the No. 1 pairing to claim the victory.

In the semifinals, senior Madeline Marck-Sherk was down one through 11, but won the 12th and claimed a win after taking the 17th. Edmonds won three of her final five holes just to finish all square. Clark and senior Kelsy Holbert cruised to victories.

Against BGSU, sophomore Natalia Nassar lost a heartbreaking 18th hole to lose by one. Marck-Sherk won the 17th to help even up her match, while Edmonds won the 11th and 15th holes to claim her victory. Clark led all but two holes.

Clark led the Green and Blue in the event with a 3-0 record, while Holbert went 2-1 and Edmonds finished 2-0-1. Marck-Sherk went 1-0-2.

This was FGCU's second consecutive runner-up finish in the event among four straight appearances.

Semifinals
No. 1 FGCU d. No. 4 Akron 3-1-1
1. Laura Edmonds (FGCU) vs Danielle Nicholson - A/S
2. Madeline Marck-Sherk (FGCU) d. Abbie Pearce - 1up
3. Kelsy Holbert (FGCU) d. Ivana Shah - 5&4
4. Allyson Wentworth (Akron) d. Natalia Nassar - 2&1
5. Ailsa Clark (FGCU) d. Makayla Dull - 4&2

Championship
No. 3 Bowling Green d. No. 1 FGCU via first-hole tiebreaker (2-2-1)
1. Laura Edmonds (FGCU) d. Jessica Madry - 2&1
2. Madeline Marck-Sherk (FGCU) vs Julia Durkin - A/S
3. Erin Fahey (BGSU) d. Kelsy Holbert - 5&4
4. Sammi Blackburn (BGSU) d. Natalia Nassar - 1up
5. Ailsa Clark (FGCU) d. Nichole Cox - 2&1

Up Next:
Following the Match Play Challenge, FGCU will be back in action Feb. 18-19 in the Amelia Island Collegiate.