BRASELTON, Ga. – As they battle for their first-ever ASUN title, the FGCU women's golf team ended the day in second place after two rounds in the conference championship at The Legends Course at Chateau Elan. The Eagles trail North Florida by just one shot as the head into the final round tomorrow morning.
 
The Green and Blue carded a team score of 602 (+5) after rounds of 305 and 297 on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Ospreys lead the pack entering Monday with a total score of 601. Kennesaw State sits in third place after two rounds, trailing the Eagles by 14 shots with a score of 616, while Stetson rounds out the top-four spots with 618.
 
"Today was a very long and grueling day, having to play 36 holes, but we hung in there so well," said head coach Sarah Trew. "In the first round, we had one bad hole collectively early on but stayed steady after that, and were able to turn in a decent round. We had a few big numbers, but gathered ourselves and played much more solid in the second round. Kelsy (Holbert) is playing amazing golf right now, and Megan (Blonien) is solid for us as usual. I'm proud of Madison (Easterbrook) for bounding back in the second round with even par. Tomorrow we are just going to go out with the same game plan and see if we can put up another good round."
 
Sophomore Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) leads the Eagle's roster after two stellar rounds of 72 and 75. Her total score of 147 (+1) has her tied for second-place in the field of 35 golfers. Holbert's first round of 72 on the 73-par course was the lowest round she's turned in all season. She shot four birdies to get to her one-under score, before following up with three more in the second round en route to a score of 75.
 
Blonien (Altus, Okla./Altus HS) came in one shot behind Holbert after the first day of competition, carding a total of 148. FGCU's most consistent player, the All-Conference senior recorded back-to-back rounds of 74 to gain sole possession of fourth place. Her first round featured five birdies, but a triple on hole 5 kept her from achieving an under par score. In the second round, she shot par on hole 5 and birdied on four more holes, but a double on hole 9 left her with the same result. Her nine birdies on the day were the most by any player in the field.
 
Junior Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot HS) struggled on the front nine in her first round, resulting in a six-over score of 79. She bounced back in her afternoon round, shooting an even 73, which included three birdies and an eagle on hole 8. Her total score of 152 has her tied for eighth in the field.
 
Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach HS) also had issues throughout the morning. Like Blonien, her biggest problems came on hole 5, where she carded a nine on the par-5 hole. She walked away from round one with a score of 80, but bounced back in her second round, finishing with a 75 after shooting par on the troublesome fifth hole and adding two birdies. She'll enter her final round tied for 14th in the field, with a total score of 155.
 
Freshman Kate Williamson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy HS) rounds out the lineup with a total score of 163 after rounds of 81 and 82. The Eagle's newcomer has shown the ability to go low in the past, but simply bogied on too many holes to stay near the top of the pack. She'll have focus on her short-game to improve her score on Monday.
 
The Eagles will attempt to climb the leaderboard tomorrow during the final round of tournament action. Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.
 
FGCU Lineup
T2) Kelsy Holbert: 72+75 = 147 (+1)
4) Megan Blonien: 74+74 = 148 (+2)
T8) Madison Easterbrook: 79+73 = 152 (+6)
T14) Madeline Marck-Sherk: 80+75 = 155 (+9)
27) Kate Williamson: 81+82 = 163 (+17)
 
Complete Field (Golfstat Ranking as of 4/11 Designated By #)
1. #136 North Florida: 306+295 = 601 (+17)
2. #128 FGCU: 305+297 = 602 (+18)
3. #86 Kennesaw State: 311+305 = 616 (+32)
4. #153 Stetson: 307+311 = 618 (+34)
5. #105 Jacksonville: 319+306 = 625 (+41)
6. #193 USC Upstate: 321+314 = 635 (+51)
7. #235 Lispcomb: 345+314 = 659 (+75)
 
COACH 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 ASUN 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 ASUN 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.
 
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.