STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – After carding two rounds under 300 in last week's Morehead State Spring Citrus Challenge, the FGCU women's golf team stayed its course and fired a 297 in the opening round of the Georgia State John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate Sunday, Mar. 27 at Eagle's Landing Golf Club. With the low score, the Eagles took fourth place after the first of three rounds.
 
While battling tough conditions, including a rain delay of over an hour, the Eagles produced the field's fourth-best score. The plus-9 number stands just four strokes behind tournament leaders Elon and Western Kentucky and two strokes out of third place. The team sits ahead of 11 teams in the 15-team field with two rounds to play.
 
"I am proud of the way we played today, especially considering the tough conditions," said head coach Sarah Trew. "We finished about nine holes before having to stop due to the weather. After the delay, it rained for almost the entire back nine but the team did a great job of keeping their composure. I think we are in a great spot after round one and are ready to go out and compete again tomorrow."
 
Megan Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus High School/Oklahoma State) led the Green and Blue with a plus-1 score of 73 in the tournament's opening round. Blonien started her first round with three bogeys on her first four holes but rebounded with birdies on five and seven. She made the turn at plus-1 and recorded seven even holes with a birdie on 13 and a bogey on 18 to finish tied for 10th place in the field of over 80 golfers.
 
Senior Mei Khuan Yong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/ S.M.K. Cochrane) fired a 74 to stand just one stroke behind Blonien and holds a 16th place tie with two rounds to play. Yong was even through her first five holes and went 1-under with a birdie on hole six. The senior added three bogeys on the back nine while battling the extreme conditions and finished the round at plus-3.
 
Underclassmen Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot High School) and Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School) each carded a score of 75 in the event's first round. Easterbrook opened with three-consecutive birdies but gained composure and scored birdies on holes four and seven. She added bogeys on 16 and 17 to finish the round and holds a tie among the top-20 in the field. Marck-Sherk also started with a pair of bogeys before producing seven-straight even-par holes. She fell to plus-4 on 11 but finished strong with six even holes and a birdie on 15 to match Easterbrook's score.
 
Senior Sara Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn./Minnesota Virtual Academy)  gave FGCU five players under 80 with an individual score of 76 in the opening go around. Detlefsen stands among the top-30 with a plus-4 score of 76 after producing four bogeys and a triple but adding three birdies in the round.
 
The Green and Blue will play two more rounds at the John Kirk Intercollegiate and will tee off Monday morning between 9:15 and 9:51 a.m. FGCU will be paired with Western Michigan and Cal State Fullerton in the second round as they look to maintain strong play and stay near the top of the leaderboard.
 
Life scoring for the Panther Intercollegiate is available via GolfStat.com and can be accessed here. Complete results will be available at FGCUAthletics.com daily.
 
TEAM RESULTS (GolfStat Ranking)

1	Elon (93)	293
	Western Kentucky (123)	293
3	Eastern Kentucky (105)	295
4	FGCU (148)	297
5	Western Michigan (153)	301
	CSU Fullerton (117)	301
7	Western Carolina (151)	303
	South Alabama (171)	303
9	Appalachian State (173)	311
10	Illinois State (198)	314
	Georgia State (170)	314
12	Brown (N/A)	316
13	UAB (177)	319
14	ULM (223)	329
15	Central Michigan (234)	345

 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

T10	Megan Blonien	73
T16	Mei Khuan Yong	74
T20	Madison Easterbrook	75
T20	Madeline Marck-Sherk	75
T27	Sara Detlefsen	76

 
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.