SARASOTA, Fla. – The FGCU women's golf team finished with a 10th-place standing through the final round of action at the Pat Bradley Invitational hosted by FIU. The Eagles improved their play in each round of the three-day event with a 304 in round one on Sunday, a 303 on Monday and a 301 in Tuesday's final round.
 
With a total score of 908, FGCU ended the tournament just four strokes behind fellow ASUN member Jacksonville, who finished ninth in the field with a score of 904. FIU took home the tournament crown with a plus-eight score of 872, while WKU and Toledo tied for second at 879. Southern Miss and Memphis rounded out the top-five with team scores of 881 and 887 respectively.
 
"We played a little bit better as a team today," said head coach Sarah Trew. "Megan (Blonien) was solid again, as she has been all tournament. I'm very proud of her for finishing in the top-20 individually in all of our fall events. Madeline (Marck-Sherk) had an awesome round and was very quietly consistent. Jean (Tyrrell) had a solid round, too. Obviously we are not satisfied with our finish, but no season goes without adversity. I'm positive that we can capitalize more in the spring. We need to work hard over the break and think about the areas where we lost shots. I'm confidently in this group, and I believe we are capable of so much. I think this event was a good opportunity for us to learn where we can improve.
 
Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus HS) led the Green and Blue with a three-round score of 220 and finished 18th among the field of over 80 golfers. She was the only ASUN golfer to finish within the top-20. Blonien carded a team-low 72 in round one and followed that performance with scores of 74 in rounds two and three.
 
After rounds of 79 and 76 in the first two days of competition, Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach HS) registered the lowest score of the day for the Eagles in the final round with a sub-par 71, including four birdies. Her improvement on day three bumped her from the mid-50s after round one to finishing 31st in the tournament.
 
Junior Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot HS) started off strong with a plus-one score on the front-nine, but struggled on the backend, finishing the day with a score of 78. Her total score of 231 placed her at 46th in the field.
 
Jean Tyrrell (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley North HS), who is competing as an individual, posted her best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a plus-three 75. The sophomore finished with the fourth-lowest total score among FGCU's six golfers at 234.
 
Rookies Kate Williamson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy HS) and Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre HS) carded rounds of 78 and 83 respectively on the final day of competition. Williamson ended tournament play with a total score of 236 (+20), while Clark finished with 241 (+25).
 
The Pat Bradley Invitational concludes the Eagle's fall schedule. FGCU will commence on a three-month break before beginning its championship spring season with the 36-hole Florida Challenge hosted by USF on Monday, Jan. 30.
 
FGCU LINEUP (*star indicates participating as an individual)
T18) Megan Blonien: 72+74+74 = 220 (+4)
T31) Madeline Marck-Sherk: 79+76+71 = 226 (+10)
T46) Madison Easterbrook: 73+80+78 = 231 (+15)
60) Jean Tyrrell: 81+78+75 = 234 (+18)*
T63) Kate Williamson: 83+75+78 = 236 (+20)
T72) Ailsa Clark: 80+78+83 = 241 (+25)
 
COMPLETE FIELD
1) 77 FIU: 288+295+289 = 872 (+8)
T2) 115 WKU: 292+291+296 = 879 (+15)
T2) 137 Toledo: 296+290+293 = 879 (+15)
4) 103 Southern Miss: 293+293+295 = 881 (+17)
5) 125 Memphis: 293+296+298 = 887 (+23)
6) 154 Marshall: 305+297+294 = 896 (+32)
7) 149 Eastern Michigan: 298+298+301 = 897 (+33)
8) 156 Georgia State: 304+298+300 = 902 (+38)
9) 96 Jacksonville: 297+305+302 = 904 (+40)
10) 140 FGCU: 304+303+301 = 908 (+44)
11) 129 UMKC: 304+310+296 = 910 (+46)
12) 116 Morehead State: 302+305+310 = 917 (+53)
13) 205 Texas A&M Corpus Christi: 317+314+304 = 935 (+71)  
14) 210 FAU: 310+322+305 = 937 (+73)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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
Head coach Sarah Trew recently is currently in her 6th season at the helm of the FGCU women's golf team after being named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year in 2016. Trew took over in 2011 and has since guided the Eagles to the program's best-ever finish in the ASUN 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 spring of 2015 saw the Eagles again take third place at the A-Sun Championship, and recording their best team score of the season while 2016 again set a new standard. The 2015-16 squad recorded a new program best with a 305.29 average and took a second-place finish at the conference tournament. In that event, the Eagles carded a team score of 290 to set the program's new record and earned the top finish in program history.