VALDOSTA, Ga. – Sophomore Sarah Edwards (Jay, Fla./Jay) finished day one of the 2021 ASUN Championship Tournament tied for sixth to pace the FGCU women's golf team which sits third on the league leaderboard heading into Monday's action. The Eagles finished the day with a score of 302, while Edwards led the Green and Blue by carding a 74.
 
Just one stroke behind Edwards, senior Natalia Nassar (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Colegio Panamericano) tied for 10^th on the individual leaderboard after shooting 75.
 
"Unfortunately, we really didn't get anything going today," said head coach Sarah Trew. "We are definitely used to making more birdies, but only came away with five today. Natalia had a great eagle for us, which was the highest of the round. We are looking forward to an opportunity to really get it going tomorrow."
 
The Eagles will open the second round at 9:21 AM on Monday at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club (Par 72, 6153 yards) with live stats provided by www.GolfStat.com.
 
In addition to Edwards and Nassar, junior Laura Edmonds (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Cypress Bay) tied for 13^th with a first round 76, while redshirt senior Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre) shot 77 to tie for 18^th. Redshirt sophomore Haley Yerxa (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest) rounded out the quintet with a score of 80 to tie for 28^th.
 
Kennesaw State leads the eight-team field with a 285 through the first 18 holes. North Florida is just seven strokes ahead of the Eagles with a 295. FGCU holds a four stroke lead on Lipscomb which sits fourth at 306.
 
Edwards had a strong first round going for par on 16-of-18 holes to open the tournament. She picked up bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6, but closed the day going even on 12 consecutive holes.
 
An eagle on No. 2 jump started the day for Nassar who went into the turn at even. Though she had a bogey on No. 10, she balanced it with a birdie on No. 13. A bogey on No. 16 and a double on No. 18 put her at plus three for the day.
 
Edmonds also had a good start to the round at one over through the first nine, but had four bogeys on the backside. She did card a birdie on No. 15, her second of the day, to finish with a 76. Similar to Edmonds, Clark was two over at the turn, but had three bogeys on the back nine to finish just a stroke behind.
 
Yerxa put together a strong first round with a birdie on No. 8 for a two over on the front side, but a pair of bogeys sandwiched around a double on the first three holes of the back pushed her to six over. She had pars on four of the final six holes to finish eight over on the day.
 
FGCU Lineup:
T6 – Sarah Edwards – 74
T10 – Natalia Nassar – 75
T13 – Laura Edmonds – 76
T18 – Ailsa Clark – 77
T28 – Haley Yerxa – 80
 
ASUN Tournament Field:
1 – #69 Kennesaw State – 285
2 – #43 North Florida – 295
3 – #90 FGCU – 302
4 – #166 Lipscomb – 306
5 – #122 Stetson – 307
6 – North Alabama – 311
7 – #195 Jacksonville – 314
8 – Bellarmine – 332
 
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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

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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 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 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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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