SORRENTO, Fla. - Kate Williamson tied for second place to lead three individuals in the top-10 as the FGCU women's golf team claimed its first outright tournament championship since 2008 in the MSU Citrus Classic on Tuesday.

The last time the Eagles claimed at least a share of a championship was on March 5, 2008 in the SIU Spring Lake Invitational. The most recent share of a first place finish came on Sept. 16, 2013 when the Green and Blue tied for first in the FGCU Eagles Invitational with Barry University.

"I am ecstatic about our play this week," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said after the tournament's final round was called due to bad weather. "This tournament, we really stuck to our process goals and functioned well as a cohesive unit. We played very consistently throughout the tournament. All of our rounds were very strong across the board.

"We had a lot of distractions that could have derailed us. Yesterday, we came off the course a couple times. As the conditions got tougher, so did we. I don't think we did anything flashy but just hung tough and came away with the W. I am very proud of Kate for her top two finish. She was so solid for us. We are excited about getting back out there again this weekend in Georgia."

Williamson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy HS) performed consistently with a 74 in each of the two rounds, which was five strokes shy of Michaela Fabiankova of Keiser University in first place. It was her best finish and the third sub-75 score for her this year.

Meanwhile, Kelsy Holbert and Natalia Nassar finished tied for sixth and ninth, respectively. Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) improved her score from the first-round by three strokes and tallied a 149 (+5), while Nassar's (Floridablanca, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano) first-round 71 was crucial in her 150 (+8).

Ailsa Clark entered the tournament as one of 11 individuals competing and finished with the best score among all of them. She fired a 73 in the second round, which was a seven-stroke improvement over her first round. She scored 153 (+9) overall to finish in a tie for 12th place.

Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre HS) was among seven golfers who tied for 12th, including Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach HS), who shot a 78-75.

The sixth and final golfer for FGCU was Madison Easterbrook (Burlington, Ontario/Aldershot HS), who tied for 19th place with a 154 (+10).

The Eagles have now finished fifth or better in five of seven tournaments since the start of the fall season, including four straight. Holbert, Nassar, Clark and Easterbrook each produced their best finishes of the year, too.

FGCU will be back in action March 25-27 in the John Kirk Panther Invitational. It is scheduled as a three-day event in Stockbridge, Georgia.

FGCU LINEUP
T-2. Kate Williamson 74-74---148 (+4)
T-6. Kelsy Holbert 76-73---149 (+5)
T-9. Natalia Nassar 71-79---150 (+6)
T-12. Madeline Marck-Sherk 78-75---153 (+9)
*T-12. Ailsa Clark 80-73---153 (+9)
T-19. Madison Easterbrook 76-78---154 (+10)
*Competed as an individual

TEAM STANDINGS
1. #120 - FGCU - 297-300---597 (+21)
T-2. #84 - Murray State - 306-303---609 (+33)
T-2. #12 (NAIA) - Keiser University - 302-307---609 (+33)
4. #197 - Austin Peay - 312-298---610 (+34)
5. #215 - Morehead State - 311-307---618 (+42)
6. #177 - Western Illinois - 318-301---619 (+43)
7. #1 (NAIA) - Savannah College of Art and Design - 312-309---621 (+45)
8. #169 - High Point - 311-311---622 (+46)
9. #234 - Western Carolina - 321-314---635 (+59)
10. #243 - Siena College - 313-335---648 (+72)
11. #220 - Dayton - 331-319---650 (+74)
12. #253 - Eastern Illinois - 334-320---654 (+78)
13. #228 - Northern Kentucky - 325-335---660 (+84)
14. #59 (NAIA) - IU - East - 375-370---745 (+169)

COACH TREW
Head coach Sarah Trew is in her 7th season at the helm of the FGCU women's golf team. She took over in 2011 and has since guided the Eagles to the program's best-ever finish in the ASUN Tournament and 29 top-5 finishes. 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. In 2015-16, Trew earned her first ASUN Coach of the Year title after the squad recorded a new program best with a 305.29 average and took second-place at the conference tournament – the program's best finish in the event. In the second round of that tournament, the Eagles carded a team score of 290 to set a low-round program record. The 2016-17 Eagles repeated that success with another second-place finish in the ASUN Championship and for the third time since Trew took over, set a new record with a 302.30 stroke average on the season.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.