OTTAWA, Ont. – The FGCU women's golf program and head coach Sarah Trew has officially signed Haley Yerxa to a letter of intent to begin her collegiate career at FGCU beginning in the fall of 2018.

Yerxa, who is a 2018 graduate-to-be from Hillcrest High School, won the Ottawa High School championship three of four years and is a three-time reigning OVGA match play champion. She finished top 10 in both the Quebec and Ontario Provincial championships in 2016 and 2017 while also being a member of her school's field hockey, volleyball, swim and soccer teams throughout her four years.

"We are proud to announce the addition of Haley to the FGCU women's golf family," Trew said. "She has only been playing golf for about four years now and has shown a vast improvement over that time span. I am very confident that will continue over to her collegiate career."

Yerxa, who was named the MVP of her golf team all four years, is also a two-time team MVP for her school's field hockey team, won the coaches award in swimming and was named her school's freshman athlete of the year.

Outside her athletic achievements, Yerxa is a well-rounded student who has been a Gold Crest honor roll student all four years with a 4.0 GPA. She plays over seven instruments including the flute, clarinet, oboe, piccolo, tenor saxophone and violin. She is an advanced piano player, as well, who teaches lessons on the side. And if that isn't enough, she has a black belt in taekwondo.

"She is a very consistent player, which is something we need as we continue to get better," Trew said. "Her work ethic is phenomenal, something that one can see by her extracurricular activities and her rapid improvement. She fits in really well with our team dynamic and chemistry, and we cannot wait to get her on campus."

Yerxa hopes to obtain a graduate degree in biomedical engineering after FGCU and then pursue biomedical robotic technologies as a career, most likely within the surgical industry, with a hope to design and manufacture devices that can perform minimally invasive and extremely accurate procedures in a faster and more low-risk way.

"I decided to join FGCU because I felt such a sense of belonging to the team and school," Yerxa said of her decision. "I really enjoyed the friendly campus environment, and I was excited for all the opportunities FGCU could offer me both academically and athletically. I know that I will be able to succeed at FGCU and that I will have some of the best years of my life. I was also really taken to the campus and the weather in Fort Myers because it will allow me to golf year-round."

Yerxa becomes the initial first-year signing for the FGCU women's golf program this season. The Eagles recently concluded regular season competition and will head to Braselton, Ga. to compete in the ASUN Championships Sunday – Tuesday at The Legends Club at Chateau Elan.
 
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.