BRASELTON, Ga. - The FGCU women's golf team sits in fifth place through day one of the ASUN tournament behind Madeline Marck-Sherk's 77 (+4).

Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada/Ridgeway Crystal Beach HS) produced a team-high four birdies on the third, fourth, seventh and 13th holes. Her score is tied with two others for sixth-best among 35 golfers. She is just two strokes off the lead as a trio of golfers produced a 75 (+2) and sit in a three-way tie for first place - North Florida's Teresa Conroy and Mindy Herrick and Jacksonville's Amanda Detmer.

The Eagles +37 as a team is 22 strokes shy of North Florida, who shot a 307 (+15) and sit in first place by six strokes over Kennesaw State (313, +21). Jacksonville (314, +22) and Stetson (318, +26) are in third and fourth.

"We had a really rough day to start out," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I noticed that our speed on the greens was off along with our chipping. We would have a bad shot and compound it by three-putting. We need to not play so scared tomorrow and just be our normal, aggressive selves. We are capable of playing much better out here, and we still have plenty of golf left to get ourselves back in this."

Aside from Marck-Sherk, the other four FGCU student-athletes finished one stroke off of each other. Kelsy Holbert's 83 (+10) was second on the team and tied for 20th overall. Ailsa Clark's 84 (+11) was good for a 24th place tie. Natalia Nassar's 85 (+12) has her in a 28th place tie, and Kate Williamson's 86 (+13) is good for 30th.

Holbert (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) improved her score by four strokes on the back nine after a +7 on the front. She was hurt by a quadruple bogey on the fifth hole, but bounced back to record a birdie on the 14th as she tied Marck-Sherk and Williamson for the team's best score (40) on the back-nine. Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre HS) shot a pretty consistent 43-41 and birdied a par-3 15th hole.

Nassar (Floridablanca, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano) produced a 39 (+3) on the front nine, but was hurt by a triple bogey and two double bogeys on the back nine. She produced the earliest birdie of the tournament for the Eagles with three strokes on the par-4 second. Williamson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy HS), meanwhile, tied Holbert for second on the team with a pair of birdies - both on the back nine at the 16th and 17th holes.

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
T-6 - Madeline Marck-Sherk - 77 (+4)
T-20 - Kelsy Holbert - 83 (+10)
T-24 - Ailsa Clark - 84 (+11)
T-28 - Natalia Nassar - 85 (+12)
30 - Kate Williamson - 86 (+13)

TEAM STANDINGS (#GOLFSTAT RANKING)
1. #104 - North Florida - 307 (+15)
2. #44 - Kennesaw State - 313 (+21)
3. #92 - Jacksonville - 314 (+22)
4. #130 - Stetson - 318 (+26)
5. #129 - FGCU - 329 (+37)
6. #167 - USC Upstate - 338 (+46)
7. #247 – Lipscomb - 339 (+47)

NOTES
Marck-Sherk led all players on par-3 holes with a -2 and finished tied for third on par-4's with a +2. As a team, FGCU tied Jacksonville for the tournament-high with 10 birdies. The Eagles excelled on par-3 holes by averaging 3.25 strokes, which was second best behind North Florida, but were hurt on par-4 (4.56 average) and par-5 (5.80 average) holes.

Due to rain in the forecast until 9 a.m. Monday morning, the tournament will not pick back up until at least 12 p.m. An update will be provided on Monday at approximately 9:15 a.m. Stay tuned to our Twitter page for the latest.

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.