KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - The FGCU women's golf team will compete in the Kiawah Island Classic over the next three days at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
 
"This tournament is going to be a unique one for us in several ways," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "It will be everyone's first time playing this event, it has the largest field in collegiate golf and it is held on two different courses. One thing that I think will play into our favor is that all the teams only get a practice round on one of the courses. We are traditionally good at adapting to any situation given to us and other teams may be thrown off by not seeing a course. We will be looking to carry our momentum over and have another great week."
 
Tabbed as the largest collegiate golf tournament in the country, the 2020 edition of the Kiawah Island Spring Classic has expanded from 48 teams to 53 in this year's field and will be played for the sixth time in its history at Osprey Point at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, S.C.
 
Two courses are used for the three-day, 54-hole tournament including Oak Point (Par 72, 5,977 yards). After 36 holes of play, the top 26 teams will play for the championship at Osprey Point (Par 72, 5,984 yards) during the final round, while teams 27-53 will play for a flight championship at Oak Point.
 
Sixteen individuals will compete in a separate individual tournament at Cougar Point (Par 72, 5,980 yards. Last year, Coastal Carolina and North Florida were both crowned tournament champions with a three-round score of 865 (+1). Sydney Shrader of UNF was the individual medalist shooting 9-under par with rounds of 72, 68 and 67.
 
The event will have two different live scoring locations for the 53 teams and the individuals. Each of FGCU's five golfers will tee off at 11:15 a.m. on holes four, five and six.  
 
For the Eagles, Haley Yerxa and Sarah Edwards will look to continue their solid play. Yerxa is coming off a tie for first place in the Amelia Island Collegiate two weeks ago where she lost in a playoff for medalist recognition, while Edwards finished third in the same event after winning all three of her head-to-head matchups in the Mid-American Match Play Challenge a month ago. As a team, FGCU has captured two consecutive tournament championships to open the spring season.
 
FGCU's INDIVIDUAL LINEUP
1. Haley Yerxa (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS)
2. Sarah Edwards (Jay, Fla./Jay HS)
3. Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre HS)
4. Natalia Nassar (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano)
5. Laura Edmonds (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Cypress Bay HS)

PARTICIPATING TEAMS (Sorted alphabetically with GolfStat ranking)
#230 Alabama State
#210 Austin Peay
#187 Bethune-Cookman
#164 Boston University
#218 Bucknell
#221 Charleston Southern
#58 College of Charleston (A)
#58 College of Charleston (B)
#192 Dayton
#126 Delaware
#185 Elon
#252 Fairfield
#162 Fairleigh Dickinson
#110 FGCU
#254 Hampton
#130 High Point
#245 Hofstra
#200 Indiana State
#147 IUPUI
#170 Jacksonville
#143 Jacksonville State
#125 James Madison
#154 Lipscomb
#194 Longwood
#255 Merrimack College
#159 Missouri State
#231 Monmouth
#148 Murray State
#166 Navy
n/a North Alabama
#217 Oakland
#227 Omaha
#109 Oral Roberts
#235 Presbyterian
#199 Radford
#141 Quinnipiac
#240 Sacred Heart
#168 Samford
n/a SCAD – Savannah
#246 Saint Francis
#89 Stetson
#223 Tennessee Tech
#171 Towson
#251 The Citadel
#183 UT Arlington
#244 UNC Asheville
#134 UNCG
#124 USC Upstate
#176 Western Carolina
#169 William & Mary
#226 Winthrop
#191 Wofford
#211 Youngstown State

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.
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 81 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--