LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – With two under-par scores and a team score of 293, the FGCU women's golf team increased four positions during the second round of play at the Pat Bradley Invitational Monday, Oct. 26. The Eagles rank eighth in the 14-team field with one round remaining.
 
After the second of three rounds, Toledo holds the lead with a team score of 588, while Memphis, host FIU, Daytona State and James Madison round out the top-five with scores of 597 and better. The Eagles shaved 21 strokes off their first-round score and now stand just 10 strokes out of the top-five. With the total score of 607, the Green and Blue now leads Bradley, Cincinnati, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Georgia State, Jacksonville and North Texas.
 
"The girls played awesome today and I am so excited for them," said fifth-year head coach Sarah Trew.  "Yesterday, we really challenged them to fight back a little harder because this group is so talented and capable of so much. They certainly rose to the challenge and I'm so proud of them for gutting out such a good round today."
 
Megan Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus High School/Oklahoma State) jumped into the top-10 with a second round score of 70 on Monday. Blonien cut six strokes off her first round score and stands with a plus-two total of 146 (76-70) with one round remaining.
 
Blonien carded a bogey on 10 but responded with birdies on 13 and 17 and added just one more bogey on the front nine to make the turn with an even score. The junior carded birdies on holes 3, 5 and 8 with just one bogey on the back nine to finish at 2-under. Blonien now trails the individual leader by just four strokes.
 
"Megs played a solid round all day long and was striking the ball well," added Trew.
 
Senior Mei Khuan Yong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/S.M.K. Cochrane) produced her collegiate best round with a second-round score of 70 in Monday's round. The score was 12 strokes better than her first-round performance and helped Yong move into the top-30 with a 152 total score.
 
Yong carded two bogeys and birdies on 12 and 18 to hold an even score through the first nine holes. She produced two more birdies on the back nine to finish at 2-under.
 
Senior Sara Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn./Minnesota Virtual Academy) maintained her position in the field with a score of 76 in the second round. Detlefsen was plus-3 through her front nine and added four strokes on holes 1 and 2 but responded to the challenge well, with three birdies in her final seven holes. Detlefsen holds a total score of 154 (78-76) through two rounds.
 
"Sara had a really unfortunate situation happen on number two that resulted in a two-shot penalty but she refused to quit," Trew explained.
 
Freshman Kelsy Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner High School) and Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School) rounded out the Eagle lineup with scores of 77 and 78, respectively.  Holbert took one stroke off her first-round score and moved into the top-50 in the field, while Marck-Sherk improved 10 strokes to bring all five players under 80.
 
Playing as an individual, Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/ Aldershot High School) shot an 85 in the second round and stands with a total score of 166 (81-85) with one round remaining.
 
The third round of action will tee off Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. Live scoring from the Pat Bradley Invitational can be followed at www.birdiefire.com or by clicking here.  Complete results and information will also be available at FGCUAthletics.com following each day of competition.
 
ROUND ONE RESULTS

	School	1	2	Total	To Par
1	Toledo	296	292	588	+12
2	Memphis	292	297	589	+13
3	FIU	297	295	592	+16
4	Daytona State	295	298	593	+17
5	James Madison	290	307	597	+21
6	FAU	300	301	601	+25
7	W. Kentucky	306	296	602	+26
8	FGCU	314	293	607	+31
9	Bradley	315	297	612	+36
10	Cincinnati	307	306	613	+37
11	TX A&M Corpus Christi	311	307	618	+42
	Georgia State	315	303	618	+42
13	Jacksonville	303	317	620	+44
14	North Texas	311	317	628	+52

 

T 8	Megan Blonien	76	70	146	+2
T 28	Mei Khuan Yong	82	70	152	+8
T 40	Sara Detlefsen	78	76	154	+10
T 46	Kelsy Holbert	78	77	158	+11
T 74	Madeline Marck-Sherk	88	78	166	+22
T 74	Madison Easterbrook*	81	85	166	+22

*competing as an individual
 
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU women's golf program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_WGolf and on Facebook at /FGCUWGolf.       
 
Head coach Sarah Trew enters her fifth season at the helm of the FGCU women's golf team. Trew took over in 2011 and has since guided the Eagles to the program's best-ever finish in the Atlantic Sun Tournament and to 20+ top-10 finishes. A year ago, Trew led the team to several records on and off the course. The 2013-14 squad set a new single-season scoring record with a team average of 307.88, while also setting a new benchmark academically. The team earned a team grade point average of 3.8 in the fall semester and set the FGCU team record with a 3.92 during the spring of 2014. The spring of 2015 saw the Eagles again take third place at the A-Sun Championship, and recording their best team score of the season.