MANHATTAN, Kan. – After severe weather suspended the second round Monday, the FGCU women's golf team carded team scores of 326 and 294 in the final rounds of the 19th Annual Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational Tuesday at Colbert Hills Golf Club. With the total score of 935, the Eagles earned ninth place in the strong field.
 
The team recorded a score of 315 in the opening round Monday but had inconsistencies in the second round to produce a 326. With scores under 80 by all five golfers, the Green and Blue put together a 294 in the final round to finish at +71 through three rounds.
 
SMU earned the tournament championship with a team score of 873 (296-284-293), while TCU took second just two strokes behind at 875 (302-290-283). First-round leader Middle Tennessee earned third place at 882 (295-289-298), while host Kansas State and Central Arkansas rounded out the top-five with scores of 890 and 894, respectively.
 
The Eagles landed just six strokes behind eighth-ranked Arkansas-Little Rock and edged Nebraska by four strokes after three rounds. The Green and Blue also finished ahead of Stephen F. Austin and Redlands CC.
                                                                  
"The team bounced back today with a great final round," said head coach Sarah Trew.  "I'm proud of the focus they showed, closing with great play especially in our final nine holes. This is a young and talented team and the more we play, the sharper we will get. We are looking forward to taking positives from the week to be even more prepared for the next event."
 
Senior Mei Khuan Yong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/S.M.K. Cochrane) paced the Eagles with a team score of 229. Yong carded a 78 in the opening round and followed with a 76 in the second go-round. The second round saw just four bogeys for the senior, who carded 14 holes at even par. Yong finished the event with a 75 in the final round to finish among the top-25 in the field of over 60 golfers.
 
In her first event with the Eagles, transfer Megan Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus High School/Oklahoma State) carded a first-round score of 79. Blonien followed with an 83 in the second round but responded with a 10-stroke improvement in the event's final round. Blonien carded a bogey on 13 and a double on hole 5 but birdied 6 and 14 to finish at +1. The strong final score helped Blonien finish at 235 and tied for 39th overall.
 
Sophomore from Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot High School) produced the team's best score of the week in the final round with a 2-under mark of 70. Easterbrook carded scores of 81 and 84 in the opening rounds and found her stride Tuesday afternoon with birdies on 8, 10 and 14 and just a single bogey on 13. Easterbrook finished even with Blonien at 235 on the week.
 
Freshman Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School) led the Eagles in the first round with a score of 77 and finished the event with a +4 score of 76 after producing birdies on 2 and 10 and carding 11 par holes. Marck-Sherk carded an 84 in the middle round to finish at 237 overall, just two shy of Easterbrook and Blonien.
 
In her first collegiate appearance, Kelsy Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner High School) finished at 253 through three rounds. Holbert consistently bettered her score through each round and carded a round of 79 in the final round.
 
SMU's Lindsey McCurdy earned the individual tournament crown with a three-round score of 214. McCurdy recorded scores of 75, 73 and 66 in the two-day event.
 
The FGCU women's golf team will continue fall tournament play at the end of the month with the 2015 Johnie Imes Invitational hosted by Missouri Monday, Sept. 28 and Tuesday, Sept. 29.
 
 
Individual Results
23. Mei Khuan Yong 78-76-75  229
T39. Megan Blonien 79-83-73  235
T39. Madison Easterbrook 81-84-70  235
T44. Madeline Marck-Sherk 77-84-76  237
62. Kelsy Holbert 91-83-79  253
 
Complete Results
1. SMU 296-284-293  873
2. TCU 302-290-283  875
3. Middle Tennessee 295-289-298  882
4. Kansas State 306-295-289 890
5. Central Arkansas 298-307-289  894
6. Missouri 305-306-285  896
7. Kansas 312-300-310  922
8. Arkansas Little Rock 311-313-305  929
9. FGCU 315-326-294  935
10. Nebraska 322-306-311  939
11. Stephen F. Austin 322-326-306  954
12. Redlands CC 349-345-341  1035
 
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.