COLUMBIA, Mo. – The FGCU women's golf team finished 11th out of a 15-team field at the Johnie Imes Invitational, despite top-10 performances from senior Megan Blonien and freshman Kate Williamson. As a team, the Eagles carded rounds of 298 and 295 on Monday, before a final round of 304 on Tuesday caused them to slide out of the top 10. FGCU totaled a score of 897 (+33) after 54 holes.
 
"We are obviously disappointed that we moved in the opposite direction on the leaderboard today," said head coach Sarah Trew. I am so proud of Megan and Kate for their top-10 finishes this week. Their solid rounds really carried us. Any time you have two players finish in the top 10 individually and you finish outside the top 10 as a team, you know you have some work to do. On this course, you simply cannot shoot over 300. Anything over 295 will cause you to lose ground. We have a couple of weeks off before our next event, and we have a lot to practice. We must eliminate the mental mistakes. We are looking forward to the opportunity to rebound at the Pat Bradley this fall."
 
Host Missouri won the tournament crown for the third straight year shooting rounds of 282, 292 and 290 for an even-par total of 864. Fresno State, FIU and the ASUN's Kennesaw State filled the next three spots with scores of 867, 875 and 876 respectively, while Mercer and Troy tied at 881 to round out the top five.
 
Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus HS/Oklahoma State) led the Green and Blue, tying for sixth in the field of 81 athletes. FGCU's lone senior carded a one-under par score of 215 after three rounds. Her second round score of 69 marked her career best as an Eagle. Blonien tallied 13 consecutive even-par holes en route to a final round of 74 on day two of the competition.
 
Williamson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Archbishop HS) also saw milestones during the three-round event, beginning with her first ever hole in one en route to a career-best round of 68 to start off the tournament. The Eagles rookie remained consistent through the next two rounds carding back-to-back scores of 74 for a total of 216. One shot behind Blonien, Williamson's even-par score tied her for eighth place in the field.
 
Playing as an individual, sophomore Jean Tyrrell (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley North HS) finished the tournament tied for 63rd place with rounds of 81, 73 and 77 for a total of 231 (+15). Her low round of 73 tied a career best for Tyrrell, who shot a 73 in the third round of last year's Johnie Imes Invitational as a rookie.
 
Fellow sophomore Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School) finished one shot behind Tyrrell after rounds of 79, 74 and 79 through two days of tournament play. Marck-Sherk tallied three birdies in the final round of competition on Tuesday, but was plagued with bogeys throughout the day.
 
Freshman Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre HS) and sophomore Kelsy Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) rounded out the roster for the Green and Blue with total scores of 234 and 245 respectively. Clark improved with each round of play, recording rounds of 79, 78 and 77, while Holbert's final round of 85 held her back from placing higher in the field.
 
UP NEXT
FGCU will wrap up its fall docket on Oct. 23-25 with a very familiar event – The Pat Bradley Invitational hosted by FIU. This will be the Eagles 11th consecutive season competing in the 54-hole tournament. Last year the Green and Blue finished sixth out of 14 in the event, which is held at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.
 
FGCU LINEUP (star indicated participating as an individual)
T6. Megan Blonien: 72-69-74: 215 (-1)
T8. Katie Williamson: 68-74-74: 216 (E)
T63. *Jean Tyrrell: 81-73-77: 231 (+15)
66. Madeline Marck-Sherk: 79-74-79: 232 (+16)
T69. Ailsa Clark: 79-78-77: 234 (+18)
T79. Kelsy Holbert: 81-79-85: 245 (+29)
 
COMPLETE FIELD
1. 42 Missouri: 282-292-290: 864 (E)
2. 68 Fresno State: 291-288-288: 867 (+3)
3. 98 FIU: 289-294-292: 875 (+11)
4. 104 Kennesaw State: 294-287-295: 876 (+12)
T5. 106 Mercer: 287-300-294: 881 (+17)
T5. 89 Troy: 290-295-296: 881 (+17)
7. 95 ETSU: 292-291-304: 887 (+23)
8. 130 Rutgers: 307-289-293: 889 (+25)
9. 91 Memphis: 298-292-300: 890 (+26)
10. 147 NIU: 299-300-293: 892 (+28)
11. 140 FGCU: 298-295-304: 897 (+33)
12. 152 Akron: 298-298-302: 898 (+34)
13. 198 North Texas: 320-283-299: 902 (+38)
14. 74 Long Beach State: 295-307-302: 904 (+40)
15. 110 Little Rock: 297-306-305: 908 (+44)
 
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.