LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – The FGCU women's golf team split a pair of matches during the first day of competition at the Mid-American Match Play Challenge Monday, Feb. 8 at Lakewood Ranch. The Eagles entered the tournament as the sixth seed and defeated the 11th-seed Central Michigan University Chippewas 5-0 in the morning matchup but fell to the third-seeded University of Akron in the afternoon quarterfinal.
 
The Eagles saw two wins by senior Sara Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn./Minnesota Virtual Academy) as the team battled in the nontraditional format.
 
"I am really proud of the way we played this morning," said head coach Sarah Trew. "I saw some great shots. We were hitting the ball well, getting the ball up and down when we needed to and sinking a lot of putts. It was really neat to see us get off to such a hot start and win all of our matches."
 
In the No. 1 position, sophomore Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot High School) held even with CMU's Kristen Wolfe through seven holes before carding a four on the par-five 18th hole. Easterbrook and Wolfe traded holes on two and three before the sophomore won three-straight holes to seal a point for the Green and Blue.
 
Detlefsen took control of her match from the start and held a one-hole lead through the first three holes. CMU's Natalie Johnson took hole 13 to square the pair through 15 but Detlefsen scored under on hole 2 and 3 to claim a three-hole lead. The veteran maintained the lead, allowing Johnson to pick up just one hole late in the round, and finished with the advantage to add to FGCU's team score.
 
At the no. 3 position, senior Mei Khuan Yong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/ S.M.K. Cochrane) took a three-hole lead after five holes and maintained the lead by winning holes 2, 4 and 6. Yong finished with a three-hole advantage over CMU's Bria Colosky.
 
Megan Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus High School/Oklahoma State) won by a four-hole margin in the No. 4 position. Blonien fell behind early on but won holes 15 and 16 and followed with the advantage on holes 1, 4 and 5. The transfer did not allow her opponent to take a win after the fifth hole they played and sailed to another win for FGCU.
 
Freshman Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School) completed the sweep for FGCU with the largest margin of the first round. Marck-Sherk remained even with CMU's Holly Hines through their first five holes but won four of the next five holes to take a three-stroke lead. The rookie increased her lead by winning holes 3 and 4 and finished with a six-hole advantage.
 
With the 5-0 win over Central Michigan, the Eagles went on to face the third-seeded Akron in the quarterfinal round but fell to the Zips 3-1-1.
 
"This afternoon we struggled a little bit more," Trew continued. "Hats off to Akron because they handled their shots around the green much better than we did. We still can take a lot of positives from today into the future. Sara was really solid for us and won both of our matches. Even though Maddie lost one, she still shot even par and I am extremely proud of her battling back and almost pulling off the match. If we can be more efficient picking up some shots around the green and adjusting to the conditions better in the future, we are going to put ourselves in a good spot."
 
Detlefsen earned the team's only win in the second round of the day as the Eagles fell to the Zips. The senior traded holes with Akron's Frida Fougberg and took a two-hole lead at the turn. Detlefsen added wins on holes 1, 3 and 4 to extend her lead to four with five holes to play and maintained a two-point advantage through the end of the round.
 
Yong and Blonien were both defeated by four holes against their respective playing partners, while Easterbrook battled back for a one-hole loss. Easterbrook took a lead right away but allowed her opponent to claim control and maintain a two or three hole lead through their first 12 holes. The sophomore responded with a win on 4 and 8, cutting the deficit to one, but the pair matched scores on the final hole to give Akron the advantage.
 
Marck-Sherk gave the team its best chance late in the round as the freshman battled Akron's Makayla Dull through the final hole. Marck-Sherk held a one-hole lead at the turn and went ahead three with better holes on 2, 3 and 4 but allowed Dull to bring the match to even with wins on 5, 6 and 7. Dull and Marck-Sherk stayed square in the final two holes to half the match.
 
After the quarterfinal performance, the Eagles will continue play with a Tuesday morning matchup against Western Michigan. The team will tee off at 8:25 a.m. from hole 10. With a win, the Eagles would advance to a matchup for fifth place.
 
Live scoring for the Mid-American Match Play Challenge will be available through GolfStat and can be found by clicking here. Complete results will be available at FGCUAthletics.com.
 
 
ROUND 1: 5-0 WIN AGAINST CENTRAL MICHIGAN
1.Madison Easterbrook defeats Kristen Wolfe by 4
2.Sara Detlefsen defeats Natalie Johnson by 3
3.Mei Khuan Yong defeats Bria Colosky by 3
4.Megan Blonien defeats Chloe Guscheweki by 4
5.Madeline Marck-Sherk defeats Holly Hines by 6
 
ROUND 1: 3-1-1 LOSS TO AKRON
1.Madison Easterbrook defeated by Danielle Nicholson by 1 hole
2.Sara Detlefsen defeats Frida Fougberg by 2 holes
3.Mei Khuan Yong defeated by Pader Her by 4 holes
4.Megan Blonien defeated by Alejandra Velasco by 4 holes
5.Madeline Marck-Sherk splits match with Makayla Dull
 
 
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.