LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Sophomore Sarah Edwards (Jay, Fla./Jay) shot a career-best 67 in Tuesday's final round and set a new FGCU record with a 54-hole total of 204 as the Eagles finished second at the Mid-American Challenge at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.
 
The Eagles placed a trio of players in the top-15 with redshirt senior Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre), who competed as an individual, finishing third overall and junior Sophia Warren (Lakewood Ranch, Fla./Seminole State College) tying for 12^th. Clark finished with a three-round total of 210 after shooting 72 on Tuesday, while Warren had a total score of 219.
 
"What a fantastic tournament for Sarah; we could not be more proud of her," said head coach Sarah Trew. "She played flawless golf this week and really carried the team. Ailsa had a fantastic week as well. The team result is not what we hoped for, but we put ourselves in a hole after round one and had to dig deep. We came up a little short, but we're looking forward to a great opportunity at our next event this weekend."
 
Edwards' new school record broke Clark's previous record of 206 which she set at the 2019 Spring Break Shootout. Her third-round 67 is also the second lowest round in program history just one stroke shy of Haley Yerxa's school-record 66 which she posted last season at the Amelia Island Collegiate.
 
The team's second-place finish marks the third time in the last four seasons the Eagles have finished runner-up in the tournament which is traditionally match play. Due to COVID-19, this year's edition was converted to stroke play for safety protocols. Last season, FGCU won the overall team title.
 
As a team, FGCU finished with a three-round score of 863 which was the third-best 54-hole total in program history. The Eagles shot 283 in yesterday's second round which helped put the Green and Blue in first place after an opening round score of 295.
 
Northern Illinois shot 280 in Tuesday's third round to win the overall team title just three strokes ahead of the Eagles. Illinois State tied for third with a total score of 876 alongside Akron.
 
Edwards notched 16 total birdies to lead the field including six on Tuesday. In the third round, she went par-or-better in 17-of-18 holes on the day.
 
Clark finished at par (72) in the third round, while Warren shot 75. The duo finished third with 12 birdies and fourth with 10 birdies, respectively.
 
Senior Natalia Nassar (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano) finished just outside the top-15 after shooting 73 on Tuesday to finish with a total score of 220. Redshirt sophomore Haley Yerxa (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest) shot par and junior Laura Edmonds (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Cypress Bay) was one over as the duo tied for 24^th (223) in the 69 player field.
 
The Eagles will have a short turn-around as they take part in the Moon Golf Invitational hosted by Louisville this upcoming Sunday through Tuesday, Feb. 14-16, at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Fla.
 
 
FGCU Lineup:
1 - Sarah Edwards – 68-69-67—204
3 - Ailsa Clark – 70-68-72—210
T12 – Sophia Warren – 74-70-75—219
T16 – Natalia Nassar – 76-71-73—220
T24 – Haley Yerxa – 77-74-72—223
T24 – Laura Edmonds – 77-73-73—223
 
2021 Mid-American Challenge Field:
1 - Northern Illinois – 291-289-280—860
2 - #73 FGCU – 295-283-285—863
T3- Illinois State – 299-286-291—876
T3 – Akron – 293-294-289—876
5 - Central Michigan – 294-291-302—887
6 - Morehead State – 305-302-285—892
7 - Ball State – 307-293-297—897
8 – Toledo – 308-300-293—901
9 - Bowling Green – 312-304-300—916 
10 – Ohio – 312-300-306—918
11 - Western Illinois – 327-317-304—948
 
 
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COACH TREW
Since taking over the program in 2011, Sarah Trew has guided the Eagles to 42 top-five finishes, including 30 over the past five seasons. On top of that, she led the program to a pair of second-place finishes in the ASUN Championship in 2016, 2017, and 2019, signifying the best finishes in program history. She was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2015-16 and has guided FGCU to some of its best statistical seasons in program history

#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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 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 (No. 24, 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 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each 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.
 
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