DADE CITY, Fla. – Sophomore Sarah Edwards (Jay, Fla./Jay) and redshirt senior Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre) sit among the top-10 individuals as the FGCU women's golf team concluded day one of the Spring Break Shootout at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club in fourth place on Monday. Final round action will start back up on Tuesday morning starting at 8:30 AM with live scoring available on www.GolfStat.com.
 
In Monday's action, the Eagles got off to a slow start in the first round shooting 297 before bouncing back with a 286 in the afternoon's second round. No. 42 North Florida and tournament co-host Western Kentucky tied for first with a team score of 570. Seminole State was third with a 36-hole total of 571, while the Eagles stand in fourth place with a score of 583.
 
"Once again, we were slow to start in the first round. We really need to figure out a way to stop digging ourselves in such a hole right out of the gate," said head coach Sarah Trew. "I'm proud of the way we came back in the second round and we are looking forward to having another shot tomorrow."
 
Edwards stands sixth (70-71--141) in the individual standings, while Clark is tied for 10^th (75-70-145). Edwards led the Eagles with eight birdies on the day, while redshirt sophomore Haley Yerxa (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest), who was competing as an individual, led the field with 27 pars through two rounds.
 
Junior Josephine Bertelsen (Vejle, Denmark/Campus Vejle/Western Texas College) finished the day tied for 21^st shooting 147 for the two rounds after carding a 71 in the second round. Senior Natalia Nassar (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano) shot 150 to tie for 35^th, while junior Sophia Warren (Lakewood Ranch, Fla./Seminole State College) rounded out the scoring five posting a two-round score of 159.
 
Yerxa tied for 24^th individually with a 148 after shooting an even 72 in the second round.
 
Edwards' 141 was just four strokes off her season-best 36-hole total this season after she shot 137 at the Mid-American Challenge. She opened the first round going par-or-better on 16 holes and closed the back nine with three of our four morning birdies. She added four more birdies in the second round.
 
Clark bounced back in the afternoon by cutting five strokes off her first round total thanks to four birdies of her own. She finished the first nine one over before going par-or-better on the back side of the course.
 
Bertelsen also shot well in the second round with birdies on four of her first eight holes. After a bogey on No. 12, she finished the round at par on seven straight to close the day with a 71.
 
The field features four top-100 teams in the GolfStat.com Weekly rankings with No. 42 North Florida leading the pack. FGCU checks in at No. 74, while Western Kentucky (No. 80) and Akron (No. 91) round out the top ranked programs.
 
Following Tuesday's final round, the Eagles will be off until taking part in the Brickyard Collegiate hosted by Mercer on April 5-6 in Macon, Ga. The 2021 ASUN Championship will be held April 18-20 at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Ga.
 
 
FGCU Lineup:
6 - Sarah Edwards – 70-71 – 141
T10 - Ailsa Clark – 75-70 – 145
T21 - JoJo Bertelsen – 76-71 – 147
T24 - Haley Yerxa (individual) – 76-72 – 148  
T35 - Natalia Nassar – 76-74 – 150
T70 - Sophia Warren – 80-79 – 159
 
Spring Break Shootout Field
T1 - #42 North Florida – 284-286 – 570
T1 - #80 Western Kentucky – 289-281 – 570
3 - Seminole State – 283-288 – 571
4 - #74 FGCU – 297-286 – 583
5 - #165 Ball State – 301-286 – 587
T6 - #111 Troy – 298-293 – 591
T6 - Daytona State – 302-289 – 591
8 - #140 Georgia State – 297-296 – 593
9 - #161 Oakland – 303-291 – 594
10 - #150 Toledo – 298-303 – 601
11 - #154 Morehead State – 299-304 – 603
12 - #192 Loyola – 297-308 – 605
13 - #91 Akron – 311-302 – 613
14 - #167 Bowling Green – 309-306 – 615
15 - #171 Ohio – 315-303 – 618
 
 
For complete coverage of the women's golf program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WGOLF, on Facebook at /fgcuwgolf and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's golf or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
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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 84 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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