LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Junior Jake Sherwin posted his second-straight 1-under 70 en route to leading the FGCU men's golf team to a drastic climb up the leaderboard Saturday at the FAU Slomin Autism Championship as the Eagles moved from a tie for 11th into a tie for 2nd heading into Sunday's final round at The Fountains Country Club.
 
The Eagles ended Friday's rain-shortened round in 9th place with still four teams remaining on the course. Once they started their second round on Saturday the Eagles were in a tie for 11th before carding a second-round total of 288 – tied with East Carolina for the best round of the day. FGCU has a two-round 583 total and is in a five-way tie for 2nd with host FAU, Connecticut, ECU and Northern Illinois.
 
Every school in the 20-team field – the largest FGCU has competed against this year – is chasing UCF as the Knights shot a second-round 293 and have an 11-shot lead following a two-round 572 total.
 
Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS) extended his hot play as now six of his first eight rounds this spring have been played at even par or better. He's tied for 3rd overall in the field of more than 110 golfers despite beginning his round with a front-nine 38 (+2). Sherwin responded on the back by posting birdies on holes 10, 11 and 13 before making par on every hole coming in and shooting a 32 (-3) on the back.
 
"Another day of improvement for the team was well accepted by all," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "The team handled the difficult setup of the course today by positioning themselves in places to make pars. I'm proud of how they managed their games and the realization that they don't have to play great to move up the leaderboard." 
 
The rest of the Eagles' lineup – contrary to Friday – was extremely consistent, which greatly aided in the push up the leaderboard. Of the four individual scores utilized by the Green and Blue on Saturday, they ranged from just 70 to 73 as opposed to 70 to 77 on Friday.
 
Sophomore Jordan Miller (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian HS) signed for a 73 and has a two-round 145 total following a 72 on Friday. He's tied for 15th overall in the field and has the second-best team score heading into Sunday.
 
Making his spring tournament debut, freshman Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) rebounded from a 77 in the first round with a 73 on Saturday and has a two-round 150 total.
 
The best improvement from Booker's five-man lineup came from junior Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Florida Southern College/Lee Virtual Instructional Program) as the transfer capped a 1-over 72 round after shooting a season-worst 80 on Friday.
 
Casper Howells (London, England/Bradfield College) made the turn at just +2, but a +4 showing on the back has him with a 153 total following a second-round 77 on Saturday.
 
The Eagles are competing in the Slomin Autism Championship for the third-straight year and posted a 7th-place finish last year and a tie for 2nd place two years ago. The teams are playing the North Course – the longest of three Fountains CC courses at 6,876 yards – as the layout plays to a par 71 and is known for its large greens but also abundant water.
 
Live scoring for the final round will be available by following the link accompanying this release, by clicking here or by visiting FGCUAthletics.com. Additionally, updates will also be posted on Twitter by following @FGCU_MGolf, with recaps and the final results posted to the website.
 
FGCU Individual Results
T3) Jake Sherwin: 70-70: 140
T15) Jordan Miller: 72-73: 145
T51) Anthony Quintessenza: 77-73: 150
T68) Austin Schultz: 80-72: 152
T76) Casper Howells: 76-77: 153
 
Complete Field (Golfweek Rankings)
1) #96 UCF: 279-293: 572
T2) #162 FGCU: 295-288: 583
T2) #195 FAU: 293-290: 583
T2) #53 East Carolina: 295-288: 583
T2) #148 Connecticut: 294-289: 583
T2) #175 Northern Illinois: 291-292: 583
7) #135 Hartford: 293-291: 584
8) #184 DePaul: 296-292: 588
T9) #205 Arkansas State: 292-298: 590
T9) #212 Stetson: 292-298: 590
11) #207 Georgetown: 294-298: 592
12) #119 Eastern Michigan: 299-296: 595
T13) #105 Jacksonville State: 299-298: 597
T13) #154 Xavier: 292-305: 597
15) #236 Bethune-Cookman: 303-296: 599
16) #201 Rhode Island: 294-307: 601
17) #216 Murray State: 296-308: 604
18) #136 Middle Tennessee State: 307-299: 606
T19) #242 Morehead State: 306-309: 615
T19) #191 St. John's: 303-312: 615
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For schedule updates, news and information, visit FGCUAthletics.com. For the latest news and behind-the-scenes access to information, photos and videos, follow@FGCU_MGolf on Twitter.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by coach Eric Booker, a member of the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Series) for portions of 17 years from 1990-2007. Booker finished in the top-5 three times in tournaments on the PGA Tour and also played in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He played in 62 career events on the PGA Tour, with his best finish being a tie for 3rd at the 1999 Honda Classic.
 
HELP THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness