EATONTON, Ga. - Sophomore Jon Hopkins (Bishop's Stortford, England/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and freshman Austin Cherichella (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) tied for 11th individually to lead the FGCU men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Linger Longer Invitational played at the Great Waters Golf Club. In Sunday's final round, the Eagles shot a three-round low 286 with Cherichella carding a 68 and Hopkins shooting his second score of 70 for the tournament.

Overall, FGCU finished with a 54-hole total of 867 thanks to Sunday's low round. No. 51 Charlotte won the overall team title (839) as they tied No. 45 Virginia with a third-round low team score of 277. No. 40 Georgia Tech finished third (855), while Louisiana Tech was fourth just seven strokes ahead of the Eagles.

"We had a tough start to the day, but I was proud of how the team continued to compete throughout. To see each of them post birdies on their final holes really highlighted that point," said head coach Andrew Danna. "I was especially proud of Jon and Austin for their consistency in a really competitive field and on a challenging course."

For Cherichella, the four-under performance on Sunday tied his season low for the spring. He also shot 68 in the second round of the Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate to start the season. The freshman started the day on a strong note with an Eagle on No. 2 followed by birdies on No. 3 and No. 4 to go into the turn at two under. He followed that up with three birdies and just one bogey on the back side to finish the day with a 68.

Hopkins had a big second half of the round with three birdies and just one bogey to finish at 70 which also tied his low round for the year. The sophomore's three-round score of 214 marked a season best as well.

Along with Cherichella's Eagle, junior Brady Madsen (Raymond, Minn./MacCray HS/Winona State) also carded one on No. 11 which helped him finish even at 72 on the day. Senior Van Holmgren (Plymouth, Minn./Waysata HS/North Dakota State) had a rough start to Sunday's round, but carded three birdies on the back nine to finish the day at 76. Graduate Michael O'Brien (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller HS/Saint Joseph's) rounded out the quintet with an 83 to round out the scoring.

The Eagles finished the tournament with 39 total birdies which was the fourth highest total among the 16 team field. 

FGCU Lineup:
T11 - Jon Hopkins – 70-74-70 – 214
T11 - Austin Cherichella – 73-73-68 – 214
T27 - Brady Madsen – 71-76-72 – 219
T32 - Van Holmgren – 73-71-76 – 220
T79 - Michael O'Brien – 75-81-83 – 239
 
Linger Longer Tournament Scoring (GolfStat.com Ranking):
1 - #51 Charlotte – 285 – 277-277 – 839
2 - #40 Georgia Tech – 283-284-283 – 850
3 - #45 Virginia – 291-287-277 – 855
4 - #108 Louisiana Tech – 290-283-287 – 860
5 - #85 FGCU – 287-294-286 – 867
6 - #154 High Point – 287-302-285 – 874
T7 - #160 Memphis – 289-295-292 – 876
T7 - #142 Chattanooga – 297-284-295 – 876
9 - #79 Middle Tennessee State – 296-287-294 – 877
10 - #126 Toledo – 300-299-284 – 883
11 - #119 Kennesaw State – 295-296-295 – 886
12 - #146 Mercer – 297-290-301 – 888
13 - #145 Troy – 298-299-297 – 894
14 - North Alabama – 294-300-301 – 895
15 - #106 Augusta – 308-288-300 – 896
16 - #153 Georgia State – 299-297-303 – 899
 
For complete coverage of FGCU athletics, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and Facebook (@FGCUAthletics) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU athletics and all 15 sport programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.


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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. 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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